


I AM [Stray Kids Hogwarts AU one shot series SEASON 2]

by joy_infires, staylove_ly



Series: I am NOT! [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Animagus, Break Up, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, Hogwarts AU, Implied Sexual Content, Jealousy, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Swearing, but not too much, but they'll still appear, cause teens still do that, chan woojin and minho graduated, established relationships - Freeform, lots of mentions of other groups, one shots, plays after Harry Potter, season 2 is here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2019-11-02 01:11:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 96,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17878226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joy_infires/pseuds/joy_infires, https://archiveofourown.org/users/staylove_ly/pseuds/staylove_ly
Summary: SEASON 1 'I AM NOT' SHOULD BE READ FIRST!Continuation of our series of different Stray Kids ships in Hogwarts.There's gonna be Changlix, Seungjin, Banginho and more...





	1. Intro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!
> 
> My sister and I just re-read all the lovely and amazing comments you guys left on 'I am NOT' and we decided to start posting the first one shot of season 2 right now!
> 
> There are going to be lots of mentions of other groups like The Boyz and NCT but we hope you won't mind. Also, Chan, Woojin and Minho have graduated from Hogwarts but they'll still get their share of one shots!
> 
> It should be noted that this is a continuation of 'I am NOT', therefore it would make more sense to read that first uwu  
> If there are any warnings to be added we'll post them in the beginning of each chapter, though we don't think there's going to be much of that...
> 
> We'll probably be updating bi-weekly on Fridays or Saturdays! We honestly can't wait to share our new ideas and ships with you and we really hope that you're going to love season 2 as much as we do! Some of the one shots were written by only my sister Jenny which is why she is listed as a co-author! Without her, there probably wouldn't even be a season 2!
> 
> But we have you to thank as well for giving us over 11k reads, 600 kudos and almost 200 comments for I am NOT! It's incredibly motivating to get so much love for something we put so much effort and time and love in! You guys are amazing!  
> So, without further ado, let's jump right into it!

**Jisung**

-Ravenclaw  
-  6th year  
-Quidditch captain  
-Keeper  
-Squirrel Patronus  
-Muggle born

 

**Hyunjin**

-Slytherin  
-6th year  
-Quidditch captain  
-Chaser  
-Deer Patronus  
-Half-blood (muggle dad, wizard mom)

 

**Seungmin**

-Ravenclaw  
-6th year  
-Prefect  
-Quidditch announcer  
-Racoon Patronus  
-Muggle born

 

**Felix**

-Gryffindor  
- 6th year  
-Keeper  
-Koala Patronus  
-Muggle born

 

**Changbin**

-Slytherin  
-7th year  
-Prefect  
-Bunny Patronus  
-Pureblood

 

**Jeongin**

-Hufflepuff  
-5th year  
-Seeker  
-Desert Fox Patronus  
-Pureblood

 

**Woojin**

-Hufflepuff  
-graduated  
-Former Head boy  
-Intern at the Ministry of Magic Portkey Office  
-Grizzly bear Patronus  
-Half-blood (wizard parents, muggleborn wizard dad, pureblood mom)

 

**Chan**

-Gryffindor  
-graduated  
-Aspiring Chaser for the Chudley Cannons  
-Kangaroo Patronus  
-Half-blood (muggle mom, wizard dad)

 

**Minho**

-Slytherin  
-graduated  
-Auror in training  
-Cat Patronus  
-Pureblood


	2. I am [intrigued]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the very first one shot for you guys! It wasn't supposed to be over 12k but oh well...  
> Some of you have seen this coming in 'I am NOT [scared of anything]' so here we go  
> My sister mostly wrote the kiss scenes because I'm still hella bad at that!
> 
> Um, I guess warning for sexual tension? But they're not actually gonna do anything besides making out!

Jisung let out a sigh, as he looked out of the window of the Hogwarts Express, absent-mindedly playing with the Quidditch captain’s badge he had received via owl this summer.

“You okay?” Hyunjin questioned. The Slytherin was sitting across from him with Seungmin. Next to Jisung was his and Seungmin’s fellow Ravenclaw Renjun, who also gave him a curious look after Hyunjin’s question. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine!” Jisung told him. “Just thought about how we’re going to kick Slytherin’s ass this year”, he quickly added with a grin on his face.

Hyunjin laughed. “In case you forgot, Slytherin also got a new captain this year. Don’t be too sure of yourself”, he teased. Jisung only chuckled. He figured that this season would be interesting with both of them as Quidditch captains for their respective teams.

“There won’t be any distractions this year, so I’ll do a lot better than last year, rest assured”, Jisung told him. Seungmin frowned. “Are you okay, though? Like...after your breakup with Eunseo?” The slightly older Ravenclaw tried not to make a face at the word breakup. Instead he shrugged.

“It wasn’t like it was a surprise. It was mutual. She’s working at the ministry now and I’m still a student. Besides, we’ve been more like friends over the last few weeks anyway. I’m fine”, he said. He mostly meant it, too. He had seen their breakup coming, if he was honest, and he knew it was for the best.

“Wait, you two broke up?” Renjun questioned in surprise. Jisung looked at him and smiled faintly. It wasn’t exactly his favorite subject to talk about. “We did...about a month ago”, he informed the older. “Sorry to hear that”, he replied. Jisung shrugged again. “It’s okay, I’ve kept myself...busy this summer...”, he mumbled.

“Anyway, I think I saw the snack lady a while ago. I’m gonna go find her. Do you guys want anything?” he switched subjects. “Some chocolate would be nice, to be honest”, Hyunjin mumbled. Seungmin got up as well. “I’ll come with you. Knowing Hyunjin “some” chocolate means  _lots_  of chocolate. You won’t be able to carry all of that”, he explained. The older just nodded and the two of them left the compartment.

“Are you really okay?” Seungmin questioned after a few seconds of silence. Jisung looked at his best friend to find him looking back at him with a concerned expression. “Is that why you came along?” The younger Ravenclaw raised his eyebrow, silently urging him to answer the question.

“I’m really okay. It’s just that this whole thing with Eunseo made me think that I can’t seem to...”, he trailed off and then shook his head. “Never mind, it’s stupid.” Seungmin reached out for his arm, causing him to stop walking. “What is it?” he questioned. Jisung sighed and leaned against the wall.

“I think I just want to have what you and Hyunjin have. Like, you two were literally made for each other...meanwhile, I can’t seem to find true love at all”, he finally explained. He really appreciated the fact that Seungmin didn’t laugh at him for it. Instead, the younger patted his arm.

“Well, maybe you and Eunseo didn’t work out, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t find anyone at all. Just give it some time. It’s a new school year. Who knows what will happen?” Jisung sighed again and nodded. “Yeah...or maybe it’s just time to be single for a while...”, he mumbled. “Let’s just get those snacks, shall we?”

~

They bumped into Jeongin on the way back from the snack lady. The younger looked glad to see them. “You guys don’t happen to have a seat left in your compartment, do you?” he asked almost desperately. “We do, actually. Why?” Jisung questioned. “I’m sitting with those really weird seventh-years I don’t even know, and I just really want to leave...and my little brother abandoned me. He’s been on this train for just about 5 minutes and he’s already made a ton of friends”, Jeongin explained.

“Come with us, then”, Seungmin said with a grin. Jeongin beamed and all too happily followed the two older boys back to their compartment. Renjun and Hyunjin were laughing about something when they returned. “Ah, there you guys are”, the Slytherin stated. His eyes landed on Jeongin and he smiled at the younger. “Hi, Jeongin. Are you joining us?”

The Hufflepuff nodded and sat down next to Seungmin who had taken the seat next to his boyfriend, while Jisung flopped onto the seat next to Renjun near the window. “We brought lots of chocolate frogs”, he exclaimed with a grin and held one out to him. The older Ravenclaw smiled at him and gratefully took the chocolate frog.

~

Several hours later, the train arrived in Hogsmeade. “Oh, are we here already?” Jeongin exclaimed excitedly. The Hufflepuff jumped to his feet and hurried out of the compartment, not paying much attention to his surroundings and therefore not seeing the Slytherin that was currently passing by.

“Ouch!” Jeongin whined after he stumbled to the floor. The Slytherin he had bumped into turned out to be Sunwoo from Hyunjin’s year. “I-I’m so sorry! This happens all the time. Are you okay? D-did I hurt you?” Sunwoo stammered and held out a gloved hand to help him up.

“Oh no, it was my fault! I didn’t watch where I was going”, Jeongin replied as the older pulled him to his feet. “No, it’s my-” “Jeongin! Is this creep bothering you?” a new voice appeared behind Sunwoo, startling them. It belonged to Lucas Wong, the new Hufflepuff Quidditch team captain. He glared down at Sunwoo, who ducked his head and quickly escaped the train.

“H-hi Lucas”, the younger Hufflepuff stuttered. Lucas gave him a small smile in return. “You should really be careful around this dude. I’ve heard creepy things about him”, he told Jeongin just as the others followed the younger out of the compartment. “You shouldn’t believe every stupid rumor you hear, Lucas”, Hyunjin snapped.

The Hufflepuff captain looked at him. “Well, knowing you he’ll be part of your Quidditch line up, so I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of him and all become best friends”, he said sarcastically. “Okay, enough of this!” Seungmin interfered sternly. “Come on, Jeongin.”

They left the train and joined the rest of the students on the platform. Hyunjin was still grumbling about Lucas and Jisung was talking to Changbin and Felix, whom he had met among the crowd.

~

After the sorting – Jeongin’s brother was also sorted into Hufflepuff – and the feast, the students went to their dorms, chatting or just immediately going to bed. The Ravenclaw sixth-years were just lazing around on their beds, talking about their summers. They even got a new addition to their dorm. His name was Bae Jinyoung.

He was quiet and reserved but seemed like a nice guy. “So, where did you go to school before?” Sangyeol asked. Jinyoung looked surprised at being addressed and closed the book he was reading. “I went to school in Japan, but my family has a higher opinion of Hogwarts, so they figured I should transfer here”, he explained.

“Oh, I went there as well! Maybe we’ve seen each other before but didn’t realize!” Seungmin chuckled. Jinyoung smiled and nodded shyly. “Yo, willkommen Bruder”, Yangyang suddenly exclaimed. The new guy looked confused. “That’s Yangyang, don’t mind him. He randomly breaks into German sometimes”, Jisung said. Yangyang just laughed before properly welcoming the other boy.

“By the way, Jisung, congrats on becoming captain”, Renjun spoke up. Jisung gave him a smile. “Thanks, do you wanna try out for my team?” he questioned. “I might give you an advantage”, he added with a wink. Renjun chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I suck at flying and you want your team to win this year, don’t you?”

Jisung did indeed want to win, especially after last year’s failure. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll cheer you on from the sidelines”, Renjun told him with a smirk.

The six of them chatted for a little while longer before eventually going to sleep.

~

The first week passed by very quickly, with everyone getting adjusted to being back at school. Jisung was already stressed out and ready for another summer vacation by the time the second week started.

He sighed and let himself fall down across from Seungmin at the lunch table. The younger was talking to his boyfriend about something, but Jisung’s sigh caught their attention. “What’s wrong?” Seungmin questioned. Jisung waved off. “This whole Quidditch thing is harder than it looks. I have no idea when to even hold the try outs...”

“Hyunjin just told me the same thing. You guys just need to find a way to organize things. And you should definitely try to help each other out as well...you’re both new to this, so it might help”, the younger Ravenclaw advised them. Jisung and Hyunjin exchanged a look.

“Maybe he’s right”, Hyunjin said. Jisung nodded, before his eyes widened in realization. “Fuck, I forgot my Charms book!” he suddenly exclaimed. “Jisung, Charms class starts in five minutes!” Seungmin stated in disbelief. The older jumped to his feet. “I know! I’ll meet you there!”

Jisung sprinted back to the dorms to get his Charms book because he knew that Professor Flitwick wouldn’t appreciate it if he came unprepared. He burst through the door, hurrying over to his suitcase.

“You’re in quite the hurry, aren’t you?” someone spoke up, startling Jisung. He looked over to the bed next to his where Renjun was currently packing his bookbag. “I forgot my Charms book...what are you doing here? And...why the sudden change in appearance?” he pointed out.

Renjun had apparently decided to dye his hair blonde. It was a huge change after he’d had brown hair for so long, but Jisung couldn’t say that it looked bad. Quite the opposite actually. “I had a free period and I...just felt like it...”, the older Ravenclaw said with a small blush spreading on his cheeks. Jisung chuckled. “It looks really good on you...”, he said. “Thanks...”, Renjun replied.

“Oh, shit! Charms!” Jisung exclaimed, grabbing his book. “Wait, I’ll come with you”, Renjun said. The two of them sprinted to class, barely making it on time. Seungmin had saved Jisung a seat and greeted him with a raised eyebrow.

“Shut up, I made it on time!” “I didn’t say anything.”

~

By the end of the second week, Jisung decided to relieve some of his stress by spending some quality time with Felix and Eric by going to Hogsmeade. It took a long time for him to convince Felix to not bring Changbin along.

“So, what did you two do all summer long?” Felix asked, taking a sip of butterbeer. Eric and Jisung exchanged a short look, before chuckling slightly. “We spent lots of time together, actually. Played video games and everything. Mostly muggle stuff”, Jisung told Felix.

“Me too, I missed my TV so much it’s ridiculous. And I mean, I had to find some way to pass the time without Changbin”, the Gryffindor said. Jisung laughed. “Is that why you’re attached by the hip now?” he asked. Felix pouted. “We would be if you’d let him come along”, he accused his friend who only chuckled.

“I just wanted to spend some time with my bros, no boyfriends allowed”, he explained. Eric huffed. “Not that I have one”, he mumbled. Felix furrowed his eyebrows. “What about Juyeon? You two got along pretty well during that weird camping trip, didn’t you?” he questioned.

Eric sighed dejectedly. “I thought so, too. Like, I’ve been into him since forever and when he kissed me in that tent I thought, damn maybe this is going somewhere. But then, when we got back to the castle, he acted like nothing ever happened and when I confronted him about it...”, he cut himself off with another huff. “He told me he was straight! But  _he_  kissed  _me_!”

“Sounds like an asshole to me! He can’t just play with your feelings like that”, Felix exclaimed. Eric just shrugged. “He’s hot, though...”, he mumbled and the three of them just laughed.

“What about you, Jisung? Now that you’re back on the market...”, the Gryffindor questioned. Jisung waved off. “I’ll just stay single for the time being. Relationships just don’t work out for me.” He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness as he said that. Eric patted his thigh comfortingly.

“Something tells me that that’s gonna change real soon”, the youngest smirked. Jisung raised one of his eyebrows. “Are you flirting with me?” he joked, making Eric laugh. “You’re fun to be with, but no”, the Hufflepuff replied. “Just trust me...”

~

Jisung figured that with his newly acquired status as Quidditch captain, he could just use the prefects’ bathroom to wash up in peace, but he just couldn’t be bothered to go all the way there, so he kept using the Ravenclaw washroom.

He stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist before checking himself out in the mirror. Suddenly, the washroom door opened, and someone stepped inside. Jisung whirled around in surprise, only to find Renjun standing there with his shower supplies clutched to his chest.

“Oh...I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were in here”, the older apologized. Jisung waved off, trying to ignore the way his cheeks heated up. “It’s okay, I was just leaving”, he said, ready to leave in embarrassment. Renjun chuckled and all too slowly let his eyes scan Jisung’s body, a smirk spreading across his face. “Like this?”

Jisung looked down at his own body, realizing that he wasn’t wearing anything, apart from his towel. He blushed even harder, looking around for the clothes he had brought with him. “Uh, no...I-I’m just gonna get dressed first. Don’t let me bother you”, he stammered, still flustered by the situation.

Renjun was still smirking as he headed for one of the shower stalls. “You don’t bother me at all”, he said, already in the process of removing his clothes. Jisung spluttered and quickly got dressed before all but storming out of the bathroom. Outside, he had to lean against the door for a second to calm his racing heart.

Why did he get all worked up by this encounter? He had been using the same washroom as Renjun since they were 11!

“Um, Jisung?” The Ravenclaw snapped out of it to see Bae Jinyoung standing there. “Sorry, but you’re kind of blocking the door...”, he pointed out. Jisung stepped aside, mumbling an apology. “You’re wearing your robes backwards”, Jinyoung said, pointing at him. The younger looked down at his body again, laughing nervously.

“I’m kind of in a hurry”, he muttered awkwardly. Jinyoung furrowed his brows, taking a closer look at Jisung’s face. “Are you okay? Your face looks kind of red”, he questioned. Jisung covered his face with his hands. “I’m okay...I just took a hot shower”, he said, causing Jinyoung to shrug and finally enter the washroom. “See you in class...”

Jisung let out a sigh of relief and fixed his robes before heading to the Great Hall for breakfast, still extremely flustered. He joined Seungmin and Hyunjin who were currently feeding each other. Jisung made a face at their newlywed-behavior but chose not to make a comment.

“Jisung, are you okay? You look red as fuck!” Seungmin pointed out once he’d managed to take his eyes off Hyunjin, though his arm still remained around the older’s shoulders. “I’m fine!” the older replied. Hyunjin chuckled, but the couple luckily decided to drop it. They finished breakfast and headed to their first class of the day, Transfigurations, which the Ravenclaws shared with the Slytherins.

Jisung couldn’t get that bathroom encounter out of his head the whole way to the classroom and he was sure that he was blushing again, but he stayed quiet. Of course, Seungmin sat with Hyunjin, so Jisung sat at the desk behind theirs alone. At least, until someone flung themselves into the seat next to his.

“Your tie is a mess.” Jisung froze at the sound of Renjun’s voice. Before he could even register what the older had said, he already reached out to fix it. “I guess someone was in a hurry to get dressed this morning”, Renjun commented with a soft chuckle as he undid Jisung’s Ravenclaw tie in order to redo it properly.

“U-um, yeah...I-I didn’t want to be late for breakfast...you know how these vultures are with bacon...”, the younger stammered. Renjun just smiled, before focusing on the tie. Jisung couldn’t help but feel a little dizzy at their proximity. Why was he so affected by Renjun all of a sudden? And why on earth did Renjun smell so good?

“There you go”, Renjun said, leaning back and admiring his handiwork. “Th-thanks...”, Jisung replied.

Needless to say, Jisung had a hard time focusing on class.

~

Over the course of the next few days, Jisung couldn’t help but feel exposed whenever he ran into Renjun. He still didn’t know why it suddenly flustered him so much to think about the fact that the older had seen him half naked, when it clearly hadn’t been the first time.

He thought he could see Renjun check him out from time to time, but he figured that that must just be his imagination. “Why do I feel so naked around him?” he mumbled to himself on the way back to the dorms one evening. Seungmin, who was with him, made a surprised noise at his words. “What did you say?” he asked. Jisung’s eyes widened slightly and he waved off. “Nothing! I was just...thinking out loud”, he said. Seungmin gave him a weird face but shrugged it off. 

~

Jisung decided to hold his Quidditch try outs this Friday, excited to finally build his very own team. Since most of his teammates from last year had graduated, he was only left with their Seeker, Kang Rena, who had proven to be outstanding and therefore kept her spot on the team.

In the end, he figured, he had found some pretty promising players. He actually felt confident to win this season, which is why he went back to the castle in high spirits. Maybe it was time to finally use the prefects’ bathroom as some sort of reward. Besides, his muscles felt a little tense from being outside all day. A nice, relaxing bubble bath seemed just about right.

He quickly gathered his bathroom stuff and made his way to the fifth floor, kind of excited to just have some time to himself and relax. When he entered the prefects’ bathroom, he didn’t expect someone to already be in there – especially not the one person that hadn’t left his mind all week. Renjun was happily blowing bubbles in the tub, his cheerful expression not fading one bit when he saw Jisung standing there.

“Oh, hey”, he greeted him. “Somehow we keep meeting in bathrooms”, he pointed out. Jisung thought back to their last bathroom encounter. However, this time he couldn’t help but smirk. Maybe it was because this time, he wasn’t the one that was mostly undressed.

“You know, I could report you to a prefect for being here”, he teased. Renjun smirked and leaned back against the edge of the bathtub and Jisung silently thanked the higher powers for the huge amount of bubbles that shielded his view from the older’s body.

“Or you could stop being so tense and join me”, Renjun suggested. Jisung couldn’t say he expected that answer. Had Renjun always been this confident? “I-I don’t think that’s such a good idea...”, he mumbled. The older grinned. “I could also just...leave”, he said, seemingly about to get up. Jisung quickly turned around.

“No! I-um...stay! I’ll...come back later!” he exclaimed, mentally slapping himself for panicking so hard. He heard Renjun chuckle and then the ripple of the water when he (hopefully) sat back down. “You can look again, I’m decent!” The Ravenclaw’s voice sounded teasing and Jisung wished he could just will that stupid blush off his face.

“You being naked in that tub doesn’t make you decent!” he argued but turned around nonetheless. Renjun had resumed to his sitting position, that stupid smirk still playing on his lips. Jisung just silently asked himself why he hadn’t fled the bathroom yet. Maybe he was secretly enjoying this. It was like the new hair color had unveiled a somewhat new side to Renjun. And he couldn’t say he hated it.

“So, are you joining me or not?” Renjun asked again, making Jisung blush once more. “M-maybe another time. I-I think I should really just...go”, he stammered. The older Ravenclaw shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Jisung turned on his heel and finally exited the bathroom. 

~

Jisung had a huge crush.

There was no other explanation for it. He constantly found himself looking at Renjun and when the older wasn’t around he kept thinking about him. Their two previous bathroom encounters made him blush on several occasions, causing his friends to tease him about having indecent thoughts.

It didn’t help that Renjun always looked at him with a somewhat knowing expression, like he was aware of the effect he seemed to have on Jisung. When he didn’t have class, he tried to distract himself with Quidditch, but it wasn’t easy when he had Renjun sitting next to him in about half of his classes.

The universe seemed to be amused by Jisung’s little infatuation (read: ginormous crush) because the following week in Transfigurations Professor McGonagall announced that she would like for them to work on an essay in pairs. And of course, he just had to say yes to Renjun’s question to pair up together.

“I’m sorry about asking you to pair up...you’re just really good at this stuff...”, Renjun admitted quietly. He almost seemed shy which was something Jisung hadn’t seen from him in weeks. It was cute, so Jisung couldn’t really help but smile. “It’s alright. I’ll help you if you like”, he replied. “Do you want to meet up at the library after class? Or do you want to do this in the common room?” Jisung questioned. “I think the common room is fine. The librarian scares me”, Renjun admitted, causing both of them to laugh. “Alright...the common room it is”, Jisung agreed.

~

Jisung ran into Jeongin on his way to his next class. The younger looked slightly distressed. “Hey, Jeongin, how’s it going?” the older asked. Jeongin sighed. “Apart from the fact that fifth year is kicking my ass, it’s going really great”, he replied, sounding defeated.

The Ravenclaw chuckled and patted his friend’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay! If you need any help, you know we’re all here”, he assured him. “Thanks, I have to get to Transfigurations now. If you could just murder me, that would be great”, Jeongin said. Jisung knew how bad the younger was at that subject.

“I’ll try to find you a good tutor, promise”, Jisung told the younger, making his face light up the slightest bit. “That would be great! Thank you, Jisung!” he exclaimed before hurriedly taking off.

~

Several hours later, Jisung and Renjun met in the Ravenclaw common room to discuss their project. However, they weren’t working very efficiently anymore, as they kept stealing subtle glances at each other. Jisung found Renjun really distracting for some reason.

Maybe it was the fact that they were sitting very close together, causing their knees to brush. Or the fact that Renjun smelled like the woods after it rained and a mixture of cinnamon and chocolate that reminded Jisung of Christmas. It was something about Renjun that just made Jisung want to look at him longer. He was so distracted and drawn in by the boy’s scent and soft features, his golden hair and his pink lips, that he didn’t even realize he was staring.

Renjun, however, seemed to have noticed his gaze and looked over to Jisung, subconsciously biting his lower lip. They couldn’t take their eyes off each other. The younger slowly moved closer to Renjun, whose hand sneaked its way over to one of Jisung’s thighs. The tension in the air was so strong, you could cut it with a knife.

Jisung moved closer and closer to him, until their faces were only inches apart. He let his eyes fall shut as he felt Renjun’s warm breath on his skin, his scent clouding his senses. Jisung’s heart was racing and their lips were almost touching just as Seungmin entered the common room.

“Hey guys, how’s the project going?” the youngest questioned, seemingly oblivious to what he had almost walked in on. Jisung cleared his throat, as he scooted a few inches away from Renjun, trying to calm his racing heart.

“We were uh...making some progress”, Renjun stammered, looking about as flustered as Jisung felt. Seungmin smiled. “That’s good! Hyunjin and I are almost done. He wanted to practice a little bit. I’m about to go join him. Do you guys want to come along?”

Jisung briefly looked at Renjun, before addressing his best friend. “I actually feel a little tired. Maybe another time”, he declined. Seungmin made a noise of acknowledgement before heading to the dorm to grab a jacket.

“Renjun, would it be okay if we finished this tomorrow?” Jisung questioned. The older nodded. “Sure, that’s fine by me. Get some rest...”, he replied. Jisung got up hurriedly, almost tripping over his feet.

“See you later”, he said quietly before heading towards the dorms as well, barely catching Renjun’s “later.” He passed Seungmin on the way upstairs, who only grinned at him, apparently giddy to spend more time with Hyunjin.

Jisung entered the empty dorm room and let himself fall on his bed with a heavy sigh. He had just almost kissed Renjun! Or had he just dreamt that? How did he develop a crush on one of his closest friends? Was he even ready for another - possibly serious - relationship? What if he and Renjun wouldn’t work out? He would hate to make things awkward between them.

He sighed again. This whole thing was beyond confusing. One thing was for sure, though...if he didn’t want to risk his friendship with Renjun, this couldn’t happen again.

~

 “Look who it is! I barely recognize you anymore since you seem to spend most of your time with Renjun”, Seungmin greeted him the next morning at the breakfast table. Jisung froze, while Hyunjin – who had apparently become a regular at the Ravenclaw table- perked up. Had Seungmin seen them yesterday after all?

“Oh, Renjun, huh?” Hyunjin commented. Jisung blushed. “Shut up...”, he muttered. Unfortunately, Renjun was only sitting a few seats away and seemed to feel addressed, as he was now coming over. He made quick eye contact with Jisung, smirking before greeting his best friend.

If you asked Jisung what they were talking about, he’d have to take a wild guess, since he was tuning out completely. He knew he probably shouldn’t stare at Renjun so openly, especially since he wanted to get this crush out of his head before it escalated. But for some reason, Renjun looked extra good this morning and Jisung couldn’t take his eyes off him. Not even when he went back to his original seat.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought the Ravenclaw back to reality. When Jisung looked at his friends, he was met with their smirking faces. “What?” he questioned. Hyunjin threw a quick glance in Renjun’s direction. “Did I just witness you staring at my best friend like you want to do Merlin-knows-what with him?” he teased, effectively causing Jisung to blush furiously. “I-I don’t want to do anything! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but Renjun and I are just friends!”

“Fine, if you say so. But if you ever figure that you’re more than friends I have to warn you! I want you to be happy and if you like Renjun, you should go for it. But I’ve seen guys walk all over his feelings and break his heart. If you mistreat him in any kind of way, I don’t care that you’re my friend and I don’t care that your Seungmin’s best friend – I will end you!” Hyunjin preached. He seemed serious enough. Jisung knew how important Hyunjin’s friends were to him, especially Renjun, his childhood friend.

“Don’t worry. I seem to suck at relationships anyway, so it’s probably best for me to stay single and not date my friends!” the younger assured him. Seungmin frowned. “You don’t suck at relationships. It’s not your fault that you and Eunseo broke up!” he told him. Jisung shrugged.

“It’s not just her. It’s all my past relationships. I just can’t seem to figure myself out...besides, I always seem to end up with popular people. I don’t know if I can handle all the gossiping again. Nobody seemed to think I was right for Eunseo, so why would this be any different?” He exhaled before getting up. “On top of that, I’m not into Renjun anyway...and now, I gotta get to class”, he said before leaving his friends behind.

He had a free period now and he was sure that the two of them knew that, but he didn’t care at the moment. He decided to go grab his broomstick and destress down at the Quidditch field. Quick footsteps were approaching him, but he didn’t turn around and just began making his way upstairs.

“Jisung”, Renjun called out to him as he caught up with the younger. He stopped in his tracks and looked at his friend, who wore a worried expression on his face. “Are you okay? You left so quickly...”, he questioned. Jisung couldn’t deny the fact that he was touched by Renjun’s concern, but he didn’t want to be obvious again.

“I’m fine...I just felt like practicing a little bit before classes start...”, he explained himself. The older seemed relieved to hear that Jisung was okay. Jisung found himself staring at him again and against his better reason, he decided to open his mouth to ask: “Do you want to tag along?”

Renjun looked surprised at the sudden question. “Uh...sure, I mean as long as you’re not asking me to fly because I’m really bad at that”, he emphasized. Jisung chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it...”

~

Jisung practiced for a little while, with Renjun watching him from the spectator’s area. He couldn’t help but feel the need to impress, even if the older had seen him play several times in the past. Practicing along as a Keeper meant enchanting the Quaffle, so it played itself, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still fun.

About twenty minutes into his training, he flew over to where Renjun was sitting. “Aren’t you bored?” he questioned, smoothly landing on one of the benches. Renjun shook his head. “Believe me, I’m very entertained”, he assured the younger. “Go on, captain. You have a season to win”, he added with a teasing grin.

Jisung chuckled and got back on his broomstick, continuing to practice for a little bit longer. He felt like he was playing better than usual, and he didn’t know if it was because he wanted Renjun to be impressed or if the older just turned out to be his lucky charm.

Eventually, he figured that it was time to get back to the castle. He flew back over to Renjun. “I’m going to lock the Quaffle back up and meet you down at the changing rooms, okay?” he asked, earning himself a nod from the blonde. He landed and put the Quaffle into the box with the other Quidditch balls which he then proceeded to lock up in the cabinet inside the changing rooms.

He startled when he saw Renjun leaning against the lockers, his arms loosely crossed over his chest. “Oh, hey. I thought you were waiting outside”, Jisung said. The older hummed. “Yeah, I know, but I figured I might as well come in”, he answered casually. Jisung chuckled and turned to lock up the Quidditch balls before pocketing the key.

When he faced Renjun again he thought back to this morning at breakfast, how he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off him. It was ridiculous how he even managed to look this amazing in the crappy dim lighting of the locker room. “You’re gorgeous...”, he muttered under his breath.

Renjun blushed. “W-what?” Jisung’s eyes widened. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But it was true. Jisung couldn’t take his eyes off him, feeling drawn in and attracted to him like a magnet.

Before he could stop himself, Jisung walked over to the lockers, where Renjun was standing, backed him against the locker wall and trapped him there. There was something about Renjun that just put Jisung in some kind of zone where he couldn’t think straight anymore. He lost all sense of time or reason; all he could think about was how gorgeous Renjun looked, how he wanted to be close to him, to touch him, to kiss him.

The older seemed surprised by Jisung's sudden actions but didn’t look uncomfortable in the slightest, his cheeks still a bit flushed. He didn’t move away either, he just placed his hands on Jisung’s chest before letting them wander up to his shoulders. The two of them stared into each other’s eyes for a bit, their faces only inches apart.

The younger let his hands slide downwards to hold onto Renjun’s hips before Renjun placed his hands on Jisung’s cheeks, cupping his face and admiring his features.

Jisung leaned in closer, his lips now almost touching Renjun’s. He closed his eyes and took in his nice scent as he felt Renjun's warm breath against his skin. “Do it”, Renjun said softly, almost like a whisper, his lips brushing against Jisung’s.

Jisung didn’t resist any longer and finally pressed his lips onto Renjun’s. His hands, that were still resting on Renjun’s hips, pulled the older closer as his lips moved against his, slowly and gently.

It felt good and it felt right, but Jisung still couldn’t shake the fear that getting involved with Renjun might ruin everything they had. He felt like as soon as he took things too far with him, everything would change and fall apart.

Jisung suddenly pulled away from Renjun, his eyebrows furrowed. Renjun gave him a confused look.

“I'm sorry, I-I can’t...”, Jisung mumbled, avoiding the older’s eyes and taking a few steps backwards. “I...have to go to class”, he added and quickly scrambled out of the locker room, feeling guilty for leaving Renjun behind like this again.

~

Renjun leaned back against the lockers trying to catch his breath, as Jisung quickly stormed out of the room. He ran a hand through his hair and sank down to the floor with a sigh. Had he done something wrong? But Jisung had been the one to initiate the kiss. Why was it so hard to get this guy to notice how much Renjun liked him? And what had he meant by “I can’t”?

He had been crushing on Jisung for over a year now and now that he was finally starting to gather the confidence to make a move on him, it turned into this ridiculous push and pull game. Maybe he should just confess his feelings like a normal human being, but he didn’t think he could do that...

It was time to step up his game. And there was only one person that Renjun could ask for help with this matter.

~

“Eric!” Renjun exclaimed when he saw the younger come into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom about 20 minutes later. The Hufflepuff looked confused about being addressed so randomly, but he still came over to sit with Renjun anyway. “What’s up?” he questioned.

“I need your help...”, Renjun said, looking around to find Jisung sitting on the other side of the classroom with Seungmin. “There’s this guy I like, and I don’t really know how to tell him...so I’d rather...show him. You’ve been trying to get with Juyeon in the most creative ways, so I was hoping that you could help me”, he explained quickly.

Eric chuckled. “You do know that most of my tries to get with Juyeon were fruitless, right?” he told Renjun, who waved off. “That’s because he’s in denial about being a big gay! It’s different with J-...that guy...”, he said. “In that case...you really need to show this guy what he’s missing out on. Use the opportunity to show off how hot you are. If you succeed the only thing on his mind will be you and the rest is easy...”

“What’s the rest?” Renjun questioned. “Find a reason to be alone with him. And then make a move. If he likes you back, he won’t be able to resist you...unless he’s Juyeon who can’t seem to be able to make up his goddamn mind...”, Eric trailed off, sounding slightly bitter.

Well, Jisung was kind of behaving like Juyeon a little bit, considering he’d kissed him and then just left him behind in the locker rooms. “I just hope this’ll work...”, he mumbled. “Anyway, thank you, Eric. I’m sure Juyeon will realize his feelings eventually”, he added, patting the younger’s shoulder comfortingly.

He tried to pay attention in class, but his mind kept trying to think about ways to seduce Jisung. He blushed at the thought. Would he really be able to pull this off? What if Jisung didn’t actually like him like that and he’d just make a fool out of himself?

But if Jisung didn’t like him, why did he get so flustered around him all the time? Renjun thought back to their bathroom-run-ins, their almost-kiss yesterday and their actual kiss just an hour ago. He had felt Jisung stare at him at breakfast this morning and he had noticed that he was behaving differently around him.

If he wasn’t imagining things, all these signs would mean that Jisung liked him. He had finally somewhat noticed him after Renjun’s endless years of silent crushing. One might think that he’d get over Jisung at some point, but no matter how many boyfriends and summer romances he’d had, his heart would only flutter when he looked at Jisung.

If the younger did indeed like him back, it was time to finally get him...

 ~

Jisung had tried to get his feelings in check all day. He knew he probably shouldn’t have run out on Renjun, but this was all just a little too much for him. He couldn’t fall for his friend! Not when there was such a high risk of failure. Renjun was too important to him.

Still, he figured he should apologize for making a move on him and play it off as a heat of the moment situation. He just hoped that Renjun would understand. Their friendship was already at risk after today.

At dinner, Jisung couldn’t find Renjun anywhere, so he ate quickly and then looked for him in the common room. He also wasn’t there, so he decided to postpone his apology to tomorrow and go upstairs. He found himself hoping that Renjun was already there, but he was disappointed.

The next day was Saturday, so there were no classes. When Jisung woke up the first thing he did was to look over to the bed next to his. Renjun wasn’t there. In fact, his bed seemed like nobody had slept in it all night. He was beginning to grow worried. Maybe Renjun was mad at him now...

The other boys in his dorm room were all still asleep, which was weird, considering Jisung usually had lots of trouble getting up in the morning. Everyone was here, except for Renjun. He climbed out of bed, determined to go look for him, but he had barely made it to the common room when Renjun came through the entrance, wearing gray sweatpants and a dark blue hoodie.

The younger let out a sigh of relief. The blonde spotted him and gave him a small smile. “What are you doing up already?” he questioned. Jisung shrugged. “I don’t know...I just kind of woke up early. Where have you been all night?” he asked. Renjun scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“I was just...taking a walk near the woods and lost track of time”, Renjun said. Jisung furrowed his brows. “So, you stayed out all night?” The older shrugged. “It happens sometimes. I like being out at night, especially when it gets colder”, he explained himself.

Jisung wasn’t sure if he could entirely believe Renjun, but he wasn’t here to question him. “Listen, I actually wanted to apologize for yesterday...I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything...”, he finally said. The older Ravenclaw smiled. “It’s all good, I wasn’t uncomfortable.”

Jisung grinned. “Good, I was hoping you’d say that”, he responded. Renjun chuckled. “Yeah, no worries. Anyway, I’ll get some sleep now. Are you heading down to the Great Hall already?” he switched subjects. Jisung shook his head and began making his way upstairs to the dorm with him.

“I think I’ll try to sleep some more, too. Maybe I just really needed to get this apology off my chest”, he said, feeling the tiredness wash over him again. Renjun chuckled. “As I said, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for”, the older assured Jisung again. They reached the dorm room, where the others were still asleep.

Jisung was just climbing into his bed, when he caught a motion from beside him. Renjun had just casually pulled his hoodie over his head and was now getting into his own bed. The younger tried not to stare, but there was just something about Renjun that made him unable to take his eyes off yet again.

“I swear you’re doing that on purpose...”, he mumbled. Renjun stopped his movements to look at him. “Did you say something?” he asked. Jisung shook his head. “Nothing, at all, uh...sleep well.” The older chuckled. “You, too, Jisungie.”

Needless to say, it took Jisung forever to fall back asleep.

~

Renjun had felt kind of confirmed when he’d felt Jisung’s eyes on him again. Maybe this would really work. He decided to keep it up for now, hoping to get a rise out of Jisung eventually. On top of that, he had started to be slightly touchier with him whenever they talked. It was subtle, but he hoped Jisung would pick up on it anyway.

Today, they had Herbology class together and Renjun conveniently ended up next to Jisung at the long table in the middle of the greenhouse. The Professor was talking about some kind of venomous plant they’d be working with over the next few weeks, but the Ravenclaw barely paid attention. Instead, he kept stealing glances at Jisung. The younger seemed to notice and gave him a questioning look.

“Is it hot in here?” Renjun questioned, whispering in order for Professor Sprout not to hear him. “A little bit”, Jisung agreed. The older Ravenclaw bit his lip, contemplating whether he should really go through with this. What if he just embarrassed himself? What if he seemed too desperate?

Eric’s voice sounded in his head, repeating the advice he’d given him in class the other day. Use the opportunity to show off how hot you are.

Maybe he was taking it a little too literally, but he was running out of ideas, considering Jisung hadn’t made a move on him upon seeing him run around without a shirt in their dorm. At least not yet.

He slid off his cloak, revealing the white button-up shirt he was wearing underneath. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned one of the top buttons before running a hand through his blonde hair. Jisung awkwardly cleared his throat. “U-uh...better?” he asked. Renjun smirked when he caught the faint blush on the younger’s cheeks. “A little...”

“Renjun! Jisung! Would you mind paying attention? These plants aren’t exactly dancing daffodils and I’d rather not have anyone die in my class. Too much paper work...”, Professor Sprout complained. Renjun didn’t even try focusing on what she was saying about those venomous plants. He still felt too triumphant to have gotten a reaction from Jisung.

“Ugh, why did I not drop Herbology as soon as I had the chance?” Jisung mumbled. “Sorry for distracting you”, Renjun apologized with a slight chuckle. The younger blushed again. “W-what?” “We got called out because I talked to you...”, Renjun clarified, grinning at Jisung’s flustered expression. “Oh...yeah, right...it’s okay.”

“For the love of Merlin! If you two want to have a chat, please have it outside! Detention for both of you!” Professor Sprout snapped. Renjun made a face. He probably should have known better than to keep talking to Jisung but getting detention with him also wasn’t the worst predicament.

“Sorry...”, he whispered again. “It’s okay”, Jisung replied with an encouraging little smile that may or may not have made Renjun’s heart flutter.

~

Cleaning the greenhouse probably wasn’t the worst punishment they could have gotten, but it still kind of annoyed Jisung. At least, he wasn’t alone, even if Renjun’s presence made him extremely nervous for several reasons. It goes without saying, that trying to get rid of his crush had turned out to be fruitless.

Renjun acted so casual around him, yet all Jisung could think about was that kiss in the locker room. He really shouldn’t have run off. ‘No, wait, what am I thinking! I can’t fall for my friend’, he mentally scolded himself. Despite that, he knew that he was already in too deep. He liked Renjun. But that didn’t mean he’d have to act upon it.

They were cleaning pots and swiping soil off the floor, because – of course – they weren’t allowed to use magic, so by now Jisung had rid himself off his cloak. He rolled up his sleeves and wiped some sweat off his forehead. Why was it so damn warm in the greenhouse?

“That’s a really nice tattoo you got there...”, Renjun pointed out. Jisung hadn’t noticed the older coming closer. He held out his inner forearm, where a wolf paw tattoo sat. It was the size of a real paw and Jisung liked it quite a lot. “Thanks”, he replied. Renjun gently took his arm, inspecting the tattoo closer. Jisung tried not to shudder when the older’s hands grazed over his bare skin.

“When did you get it?” Renjun asked, looking up from his arm. “Last June when I was in LA with Seungmin. He wanted to do something crazy and I’ve wanted a tattoo for a long time...it wasn’t easy to hide it from my family, though”, he said with a slight chuckle. The blonde smiled a little. “Why a paw?” he questioned.

Maybe it was because they were standing so close together, but Renjun’s voice was really quiet like it was only meant for Jisung. The younger looked at his own arm. “W-well...wolf paw tattoos usually symbolize being guided along the right path or moving forward...I guess it just felt right...”, he explained. “It’s really nice...”, Renjun repeated and let his fingers trace the outlines of Jisung’s tattoo.

The older’s touch gave Jisung goosebumps. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me…” the younger said quietly. The two of them looked into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, causing Renjun to smile a bit. Why did his smile have to be so gorgeous? Was it just Jisung’s mind or did Renjun’s lips look extra soft today…?

The older seemed to notice Jisung staring at his lips and stepped even closer to him, their faces only inches apart from each other. The younger felt his heart beat pick up just from being so close to Renjun. Jisung couldn’t stop his feelings from taking over his rationality and finally connected their lips.

Renjun immediately responded to his kiss and put his arms around Jisung’s neck, pulling him closer while Jisung let his hands wander to Renjun’s hips. It didn’t take long for their kiss to get more heated when Jisung backed him up against the table in the middle of the greenhouse. He then lifted the older up onto the table before stepping between his legs and continued to kiss him, his hands still on his hips. Renjun seemed surprised but definitely not opposed as he let his hands play with Jisung’s hair.

Why did he have to be such a good kisser and why did he have to make Jisung so crazy every time they got close? Why did it feel so right? Jisung mentally scolded himself. He had crossed the friendship-line even though that was exactly what he had told himself not to do. Renjun was too important to him to mess things up. Yes, he liked him but what if they didn’t work out and everything became awkward between them?

Jisung suddenly pulled away from Renjun and took a step back. The older gave him a confused look. “I’m sorry, I-I can’t…” Jisung said, avoiding the other’s eyes. Renjun’s confused expression turned into an angry one.

“Oh my god, make up your mind! Do you want me or not?” Renjun snapped, sounding frustrated, as he angrily ran a hand through his hair. Why did he look so hot when he did that? “I’m sorry...”, Jisung apologized. His heart was still rapidly beating inside his chest. “Sorry for playing with my feelings and leading me on all the time?”

“I just...I don’t want to ruin things between us. I like you, but I’m scared...”, he admitted. Renjun furrowed his brows, still looking pissed. Jisung could kind of understand him. He must feel played. “Scared of what?” the older questioned. Jisung sighed. “I don’t know...of hurting you? Or of one of us realizing that we don’t fit together after all? It wouldn’t be the first time...”

Renjun slid off the table, leaning against it instead, while crossing his arms over his chest. “Besides, you’re so popular because you’re friends with Hyunjin and I’m not unpopular either and everyone’s going to know about us and I’m so sick of being in the public eye like some kind of celebrity when all I want is some peace and quiet!” Jisung spoke everything that had been on his mind ever since he’d come to the realization that he might like Renjun as more than a friend.

The older Ravenclaw huffed. “So, you’re not even going to try?” Jisung looked at him. He thought he could see hurt underneath the angry surface and he questioned himself. Did he really not want to try? Even after what had just happened between them? When he clearly knew that Renjun felt something for him too?

“Part of me wants to say no...but despite everything I don’t think I can stay away from you...I just don’t know if I can handle the rumors again. People thought I wasn’t good enough for Eunseo...what would make them think I’m good enough for you?” Renjun stepped closer, his features significantly softer compared to two minutes ago.

“Listen, if you want to give this a go, we don’t have to tell anyone about it”, he suggested. Jisung gave him a questioning look. “Like...dating secretly?” he asked. Renjun smiled a little bit, a faint blush spreading on his cheeks. “Maybe...if you want. I just know that I’ve liked you for too long...and if you like me too, I don’t want to just let it slip away...”

Jisung’s eyes widened. “Wait, that crush you had last year...”, he trailed off. Renjun chuckled, his arms wrapping themselves around the younger’s neck again. “Yeah, that was you. I figured you might catch on eventually, but I guess it took me taking my clothes off for you to finally notice me”, he said jokingly. Jisung blushed. “I-I mean...I did notice you before...I just...” “Didn’t realize until I took my clothes off?” Renjun offered.

“Oh, shut up”, Jisung said shyly. Renjun laughed his gorgeous, melodious laugh. “So, what do you say? Will you be my secret boyfriend?” he asked. Jisung answered by leaning in for another kiss.

~

Just about an hour later, the two students had returned to the dorm and already couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Luckily, their dormmates seemed to be somewhere else, so they had some alone time, but they still decided to draw the curtains on Renjun’s bed to give them at least a little bit of privacy in case someone did come in.

Jisung leaned his back against the wall, the older sitting on his lap as they kissed. Renjun’s arms were wrapped around Jisung’s neck, as usual, while Jisung’s hands rested on Renjun’s hips, keeping him close. The younger’s lips eventually trailed away from Renjun’s and moved on to his neck instead, careful not to leave any marks.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing them to burst apart and trying to look as casual as possible. The curtains on Renjun’s bed were still drawn so they had been shielded from whoever had just walked in. Yet, it probably wasn’t the best idea to test their luck.

Renjun pulled the curtain to the side and found Seungmin standing next to his own bed, looking for something in his drawer. He looked over to where the two other Ravenclaw’s were sitting. “Oh, hey guys. I didn’t realize you two were in here”, he greeted them. “Yeah...we were just talking about our project and shit. It was a bit too crowded downstairs”, Jisung lied. Seungmin made a noise of acknowledgement.

“How was detention?” he questioned. The two older boys shrugged. “Could have been a lot worse”, Renjun said casually. Jisung had to bite back a chuckle. “Professor Sprout is always so quick to give detention...”, Seungmin mumbled bitterly. The older remembered that she had also given him detention before, which however, ultimately led to him and Hyunjin getting a lot closer, so that was that.

“Anyway, I have to go”, Seungmin announced. “I’m meeting up with Hyunjin at the library.” Speaking of the devil, Jisung thought amusedly. Those two practically stuck together like glue. “Have fun with the project”, he added before leaving the dorm again. Renjun let out a relieved sigh and fell back into his pillows.

“That was close, holy shit...”, he mumbled. Jisung chuckled and lay down next to him. “Are you really okay with keeping this from our friends?” he questioned while reaching for Renjun’s hand and lacing their fingers together, causing the older to blush. “I trust our friends, but things seem to always seep through here somehow...and if you want to stay out of the public eye it’s best if we tell nobody...”

Jisung felt bad about lying to his friends, but he really wanted this thing with Renjun to work. They could still tell people afterwards. He didn’t get much more of a chance to overthink, because next thing he knew his boyfriend – that word sounded ridiculously good in his head – was hovering over him with a smirk on his face.

“Now, I believe we were in the middle of something...”

~

The following weekend many students headed to Hogsmeade, mainly to stack up their candy stock.

“Do you think it would be too obvious if we went to Hogsmeade together?” Renjun suddenly spoke up. Jisung looked up from the book he was reading and smirked. “Are you asking me out on a date?” he asked, causing the older to blush a bit.

“Yeah, kind of”, he replied with a smile. “I feel like as long as we don’t act obvious, we could go together”, Jisung answered his boyfriend’s previous question. The older’s smile brightened up and Jisung would have given a lot to kiss him, but they were in the middle of the common room. He’d just have to do that later.

“Let’s ditch this stupid homework and go”, Jisung told him, getting up from the blue couch. Renjun chuckled. “You’re really not wasting any time, huh?” The younger just winked at him. They went upstairs to the dorm to put on their warm clothes before heading to Hogsmeade.

They decided to quickly go to the Hog’s Head Inn since it was kind of cold outside. Jisung still didn’t like the Three Broomsticks, besides, the Hog’s Head was less crowded. As usual, the shaggy bartender only greeted them with a nod as they went to find a table. It didn’t take very long since the only other guest was a man reading a newspaper. The guy came over to take their orders – butterbeer for both of them – and left again without saying much.

“So, I don’t think I ever asked you about your summer”, Renjun stated. “On the train you said you kept yourself busy.” Jisung bit his lip, not really sure if he should tell his boyfriend about it. But he figured that honesty was the key here. He wouldn’t want it to surface in another way and cause trouble later on.

“Yeah...I hung out with Eric a lot. We were both trying to get over our failed relationships, so we figured we could try...together”, Jisung said. Renjun raised his eyebrows, realization dawning on his face. “Oh. You and Eric, huh.” “Yeah, but it wasn’t serious or anything. I guess we were just each other’s rebound and he’s still in love with Juyeon, so...he’s not a threat or anything”, the younger explained himself.

To his surprise, Renjun chuckled. “What?” Jisung questioned. The older looked at him and Jisung couldn’t help but get a little lost in his eyes. They sparkled and – he wasn’t sure if it was the lighting or not – he thought he could see some kind of violet shimmer in his eyes. “Nothing, I just think it’s cute that you’re explaining yourself.” “Well, I didn’t want you to think there’s something going on between us, because there isn’t”, Jisung said.

“I know”, Renjun replied, reaching for Jisung’s hand across the table, causing the younger Ravenclaw to smile. “Did it help, though?” he suddenly asked. Jisung made a questioning noise. “The rebound thing...are you over her?” Renjun’s words were spoken carefully, almost like he was scared to hear the answer.

“I’m here with you, aren’t I?” Jisung replied, lacing his fingers with Renjun’s across the table. “And I’m not a rebound?” the older questioned, a hint of amusement in his voice. “No, you’re...”, Jisung trailed off, blushing at the thought of almost saying something cheesy.

Renjun grinned, luckily not pressing the younger to continue his sentence. Their butterbeers arrived, causing them to let go of each other. “Anyway, what did you do during summer? You went to Hawaii, right?” The older Ravenclaw nodded. “It was boring, though. I barely went to the beach because it was crowded as hell and I just spent the whole time lazing around at the hotel”, Renjun said.

“No beach boys this year”, Jisung teased. Renjun rolled his eyes playfully. “I was more occupied with trying to figure out a way to woo you”, he admitted. Something told Jisung that the older was only half-joking. He felt his cheeks heat up a little. “H-how long have you uh...”, he trailed off sheepishly.

“How long have I liked you?” Renjun finished the question for him. He thought about it for a few moments. “I don’t even remember. Since some time last year, I think...”, he answered. “And you kept it to yourself the whole time?” “Well, I couldn’t exactly make a move on you while you were in a relationship”, Renjun pointed out. “Fair enough...”

They nursed their butterbeers for a while, neither of them saying anything. Jisung, however, could feel his boyfriend’s eyes on him. When he looked up, he found the older staring back at him with a dreamy expression.

“What?“ he questioned with a shy grin. “Nothing...I’m just...happy to be here with you, I guess”, Renjun admitted. Jisung blushed again. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that he and Renjun were an actual thing now, but he couldn’t say he minded. Quite the opposite, actually. He felt giddy and warm when he was with the older. He didn’t think that he would feel like this again anytime soon. “I’m happy, too...”, Jisung replied finally.

After finishing their butterbeers, they talked for a while longer before asking for the check. The shaggy bartender came over and set the bill down in front of Jisung, who paid it without thinking twice. When he looked at Renjun again he noticed how flustered he seemed; his cheeks flushed crimson.

“What?” Jisung questioned. Renjun just shook his head and waved off with a mumbled “just thought of something...” Jisung wanted to ask him about it but Renjun didn’t seem like he wanted to elaborate. They got up and left the Hog’s Head Inn. Jisung had to refrain from taking the older’s hand as they made their way back to the more crowded part of Hogsmeade. He had to be satisfied with their hands occasionally brushing together as they walked close to each other.

“What do you want to do now?” Renjun asked. “How about we head to Honeydukes and then go back?” Jisung suggested. The older Ravenclaw nodded and so they made their way to Honeydukes, making light conversation. “When’s your first Quidditch game?” Renjun questioned. “Next week, actually. We’re playing against Gryffindor. Felix made the team again, so I’m kind of excited about it but also nervous. Rocky’s put together a pretty good team this year”, Jisung explained.

“So did you, captain. I’m sure you’ll win”, the older said encouragingly. Jisung chuckled, letting their hands brush together purposefully. “I trust you’ll be there”, he said, sounding hopeful. “I wouldn’t miss it.” They maintained eye-contact for a few seconds and once again Jisung had to try his hardest not to kiss him.

“Hey, you guys!” a familiar voice suddenly called out to them as they reached Honeyduke’s. Jisung startled and looked in the direction of the voice. Seungmin and Hyunjin had just left the store and were now walking up to them, their fingers laced together. The Slytherin smirked at them. “Are you two on a date?” he asked teasingly.

“We’re just hanging out”, Renjun replied, his cheeks slightly flushed. “You seem to be attached by the hip these days”, Seungmin pointed out, though it didn’t sound accusing or even teasing. Jisung shrugged and put an arm around Renjun in what he hoped was a friendly way. “What can I say. We’re just enjoying single life...together”, he said.

“Well, then we don’t want to keep you. Have fun, you two”, Seungmin answered and dragged Hyunjin along with him. Renjun looked after them until he was sure they were out of earshot. “You think they caught on?” he asked. Jisung shook his head. “I don’t think so”, he replied. “But...I have to ask again. Are you really alright with this? I mean we’re kind of lying to our best friends...”

Renjun seemed to consider that for a second. “Well, if it’s what it takes for us to be together, I’m more than okay with it”, he finally answered. “But you’re going to tell me once it starts bothering you, okay? I really want this to work out...”, the younger said. Renjun nodded. “So do I.” Jisung smiled faintly, taking Renjun’s hand, despite himself and mumbling: “You know, if we weren’t in public, I’d kiss you...” before gently dragging him along to the candy store.

~

Eventually, the two of them headed back to the castle. Most of the Ravenclaws had returned to the dorm as well, so they decided to head to the Room of Requirements for some more privacy (mainly because Jisung really wanted to kiss Renjun without the fear of getting caught).

“By the way...”, Jisung spoke up, when he finally managed to keep his hands to himself long enough. Renjun sent him a questioning look and Jisung found himself taking in his boyfriend’s disheveled look and his reddened, kiss-swollen lips. He had to resist kissing him again – at least long enough to utter his question.

“Why were you so flustered earlier when we paid the check?” He didn’t know why he remembered it so clearly or why he cared about it, but the fact that Renjun was getting flustered all over again made it worth asking. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and sat up properly.

“It’s just something my friend said once...”, he trailed off. Jisung’s interest was piqued. What exactly could that friend have said that had caused the older to blush like this. He raised an eyebrow. Renjun hid his face in his hands. “I can’t say it. You’re going to think I’m weird”, he mumbled, his voice sounding muffled. Jisung laughed and put a hand on the older’s thigh.

“Babe, I’ve known you for six years. I already think you’re weird and I still like you”, he joked. Renjun looked at him from between his fingers, seemingly attempting a glare. To Jisung he still looked cute, though. Eventually, the older Ravenclaw sighed. “Fine...one of my friends once said this stupid thing about the one paying the bill being the one who...you know...”, he trailed off giving Jisung a pointed look.

Jisung needed a few seconds to catch on. Once he did, his cheeks heated up as well. “Oh...”, he said. “It’s dumb and I’m not implying anything here, but I couldn’t help but be reminded of what he said...”, Renjun admitted. Jisung’s face was still hot but he couldn’t help but chuckle. Renjun looked confused. “What?” he asked.

“You’re cute”, Jisung told him and leaned in for a soft kiss before smiling at the older. He still felt unsure about where this entire secret-relationship-thing was going to go but right now he just felt really happy to be with Renjun. He lifted his hand to put it on Renjun’s cheek, admiring his gorgeous features as Renjun closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, smiling.

~

A few days later, the first Quidditch game of the season took place. Jisung was nervous and excited at once, but he’d spotted his boyfriend in the crowd of Ravenclaws right at the beginning of the game. Renjun gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up which gave him both confidence and strength.

He trusted his team, mainly because he had hand-picked the members himself. The Gryffindors were worthy opponents, but Jisung felt more confident about playing against them than he had last year. He briefly thought about Eunseo, but shook her image from his mind, looking in Renjun’s direction again.

The first few minutes of the game were uneventful with both him and Felix holding every Quaffle thrown their way. The respective Seekers Kang Rena from his house and Kang Chanhee from Gryffindor made their rounds around the Quidditch field, looking out for the Snitch.

Mark Lee, Hogwarts’ new head boy and a new addition to the Gryffindor team rushed towards him the Quaffle in his hand and a determined expression on his face. Jisung missed the shot by a hair; the crowd of red and gold erupted in cheers and Seungmin announced the first 10 points for Gryffindor. He made a face and dared to look in Renjun’s direction again.

The older smiled at him once more. Jisung smiled back and focused back on the game. Bong Jaehyun, a Chaser on the Ravenclaw team scored a few minutes later, followed by one more goal courtesy of Yangyang. The game sped up after that. Gryffindor scored a few times, Ravenclaw always managed to follow up.

Jisung was on edge. His eyes following the Quaffle as good as possible. He got ready to face off Na Jaemin who was currently in possession of the Quaffle. It was 70-80 for Gryffindor right now. Just as Jaemin threw the ball – Jisung barely caught it – the whistle to signal the end of the game sounded through the air.

“Kang Rena caught the snitch! Ravenclaw wins!” Seungmin announced, excitement laced in his voice. Jisung’s teammates all gathered around Rena and he joined them. Somewhere along the lines, they all landed in some kind of group hug. A few Ravenclaws ran onto the field to congratulate the players. Renjun was among them and, throwing caution to the wind, tackled Jisung in a hug.

“I knew you’d win”, he said into his ear. Jisung laughed and tightly wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “Seems like I’ve found my lucky charm...”, he pointed out. Renjun pulled out of the hug, his cheeks slightly flushed. They didn’t have much more time to talk because Jisung was pulled in several hugs and his back was patted by dozens of hands. 

~

For the remainder of the evening, Jisung couldn’t find more than a minute to talk to his boyfriend because the Ravenclaws were busy celebrating their first win. Seungmin had invited Hyunjin to their common room and the older came over to pat Jisung’s shoulder to congratulate him.

“Don’t get too used to it, though”, he warned playfully. Jisung grinned. “I’m confident about taking on your team, Hwang.” He was excited about playing against Slytherin since those games always tended to be exciting. Seungmin appeared at Hyunjin’s side – which wasn’t very surprising since the two of them were practically glued together these days.

“I’ve been meaning to ask...”, the youngest trailed off. “I saw you and Renjun together earlier. How’s it going with your little...infatuation...?” Seungmin smirked and wagged his eyebrows. Jisung’s eyes widened slightly and he was probably blushing. “Uh...that’s been resolved”, he answered. Technically, it wasn’t a lie, but he wasn’t going to tell Seungmin and Hyunjin “resolved” meant that he was secretly dating Renjun. Especially not in a public place like this.

“Aw, too bad. I was lowkey rooting for you two”, Hyunjin said with a pout. Jisung shrugged. “I guess we’re just...better off as friends”, he answered. Now, that one was a lie. He felt bad about it, but he still didn’t think telling them was a good idea. Especially not, without talking to Renjun about it beforehand.

“I guess it can’t be helped then. But just so you know, you’d look amazing together”, Seungmin said. Jisung refrained from replying with an “I know” and instead just smiled, secretly thankful when Hyunjin dragged the youngest away with an excuse directed at Jisung.

~

After several hours, the party fizzled out and Jisung felt exhausted as he got ready for bed. He was still happy about his team’s win over Gryffindor, but his exhaustion had definitely caught up with him. When he got back to the Ravenclaw dorms, Renjun was already fast asleep. Jisung tried not to smile too big at the older’s angelic, peaceful sleeping face.

He thought back to what Hyunjin had said at the party. He’d been rooting for them. In that case, he’d be happy if he found out about them one day, right? He got into bed, tuning out the soft chatter of his dormmates and soon drifted off to sleep.

~

The next morning, Jisung was woken up by the feeling of lips brushing against his cheek. He groaned sleepily, and his eyes fluttered open. Renjun’s blonde mop came into his vision and Jisung reached out pull the older onto his mattress and into his embrace. He just assumed that they were on their own in the dorm which is why he didn’t hold himself back from cuddling his boyfriend. Renjun giggled, seemingly unopposed to morning cuddles.

“I didn’t get a proper chance to congratulate you yesterday”, Renjun mumbled into the crook of Jisung’s neck. “Well, you have enough time to do that now, don’t you”, the younger replied, his voice still laced with sleep. Renjun laughed and looked up at him from where he was practically smushed into Jisung’s chest.

“What exactly did you have in mind?” he asked. Jisung made a humming noise, pretending to think. “I think cuddles will do for now”, he answered. Renjun seemed satisfied with that answer and got more comfortable in Jisung’s arms. He could really get used to this. Sure, anyone could walk in at any time but right now neither of them found it in themselves to care.

Jisung was about to doze off once more when Renjun spoke up again: “Can you give me flying lessons?” The question was so random that Jisung opened his eyes to look at his boyfriend. He had to be kidding. “I thought you hated flying”, he pointed out. Renjun shrugged. “I still want to try it. You’re passionate about it and I feel like if anyone could teach me it would be you”, he explained.

Jisung couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride at those words. Renjun lifted his head to properly look at the younger Ravenclaw. “Besides...”, he started, “maybe I just want to see you in your Quidditch uniform, captain.” There was a playful glint in his eyes but Jisung couldn’t help but get flustered.

“Uh, sure if you really want to try...”, he stammered. Renjun pecked his cheek in thanks before they resumed quietly cuddling for a while longer before heading to breakfast.

~

Since today was Saturday, Jisung and Renjun decided to start the first flying lesson right after breakfast. Renjun seemed nervous but determined to get on a broomstick, but Jisung vowed to protect him at all cost.

“Okay, now get on...”, he said once they’d made it out onto the field with their respective broomsticks (Renjun’s was borrowed, but it would do the trick just fine). The blonde looked a little unsure of himself but did as he was told. “Great and now carefully push yourself off the ground”, Jisung continued.

“Maybe I shouldn’t try that yet. You know, like with surfing. Isn’t the first lesson always on land? We should go for that as well”, Renjun argued. Jisung chuckled and stepped closer, putting a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “We don’t have to do this if you changed your mind, babe”, he pointed out, but Renjun shook his head. “No, I want to!”

The older Ravenclaw pushed himself off the floor, but he seemed to have done it with a little too much vigor because he shot up into the air, wildly flying around, screaming in panic. Jisung got onto his own broomstick and tried to catch up with him. “Try to balance yourself out!” he shouted, scared that Renjun might fall and hurt himself.

For a moment it seemed as though the older hadn’t heard him but after a while he managed to slow down and stop flailing around in the air. Jisung caught up with him and guided him back down to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Jisung asked with a slight chuckle when Renjun clutched onto his arm, shooting the abandoned broomstick a vicious glare. “I’m fine. I think I should just stay on the ground, though”, he replied. The younger laughed and gave his boyfriend a hug. “Maybe that’s for the best”, he agreed.

“But at least I got to see you in your uniform, so I got something out of it”, Renjun mumbled. Jisung laughed again. “You’re quite something, Huang Renjun...”, he said with a small sigh. The older pulled back with a grin and picked up the broomstick. “Let’s put this cursed thing away and do something more fun.”

“Something more fun” ended up being the two of them making out in the locker rooms for a solid 30 minutes before the Hufflepuff team showed up for practice. Jisung couldn’t help but ask himself how they hadn’t gotten caught yet with how obvious they were being, but at the same time he was glad. He liked having Renjun to himself without judging eyes watching their every move. This was different; thrilling...it was good.

And maybe it was just what Jisung needed.

 


	3. I am [unsure]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! We're back with a new one shot!  
> And we're bringing you some Changlix today...but uh...yeah, just see for yourself lmao. 
> 
> We hope you're gonna like it!

It was a normal, slightly cloudy Saturday and Changbin was currently in the middle of buttering a croissant, humming to himself, when his boyfriend suddenly made a weird, surprised noise, causing him to look up. “Wha-”, he started but Felix had already jumped out of his seat and was running towards the doors of the Great Hall. Still confused, Changbin rose from his seat as well, leaving the croissant behind to follow the younger.

“Joshua Wen?” Felix exclaimed, approaching a guy Changbin had never seen before, despite him wearing a Slytherin tie and looking around his age. The Slytherin, Joshua Wen, met his gaze and his eyes widened in recognition. “Felix!” He sounded just as surprised as Felix did, but Changbin was still the most confused, especially when the two shared a hug and “Joshua” even gave Felix an excited peck on the cheek. “I missed you, muffin!” he mumbled.

Changbin raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest. “Um, Felix?” he finally spoke up. The Gryffindor finally pulled back from Joshua and looked at Changbin like he just remembered that he was there. “Oh my god, Binnie! This is Josh, we...knew each other back in Australia”, he explained, still smiling excitedly. Changbin wasn’t sure if he was happy about this, though.

“That’s his way of saying that we dated a few summers ago before I moved to Auckland to go to school there”, Josh added with a wide grin, casually putting an arm around Felix’ shoulders. Changbin’s eyebrows shot up once more. Felix blushed. “A-anyway, Josh... this is my boyfriend Changbin”, he finally introduced him.

Josh’s eyes widened a little and he retracted his arm from the Gryffindor’s shoulders, probably realizing that the news of him being Felix’ ex might be making things awkward. “Nice to meet you! It seems like we’re housemates”, he said, his expression back to carefree in a matter of seconds.

“You’re a seventh-year, right?” Felix asked Josh, who nodded. The younger grinned enthusiastically and looked back at Changbin. “That means you’re roommates!” he exclaimed. Changbin forced a little smile. “It would appear so”, he said. He really didn’t know what to think of this whole situation. Maybe he was imagining it, but he thought there was something in the way Felix looked at Josh...and it was beyond unsettling.

~

“So, what are you doing here anyway?” Felix questioned, as he and Changbin gave Josh a quick tour around the most important parts of the castle. Josh grinned. “My parents thought that it was best to finish my education at the best school in the world...there were some complications with the transfer process, so it took a little longer, but it all worked out in the end”, he explained. “And now that I’m here, I have to say they were right. Hogwarts is amazing!” Felix grinned. “That’s true. Though it’s hard being so far away from home...but I found some really great friends here. I can’t wait for you to meet them!” he answered excitedly.

Josh smiled and ruffled Felix’ hair. “I’m really glad I already have one friend here”, he said. Felix returned the smile and looked over at Changbin, who had been silent this entire time. “Two friends”, the Gryffindor corrected. Josh and Changbin exchanged a look and the new Slytherin smiled at him. “Right, two! I look forward to meeting the rest of your friends!”

Changbin reached out to touch Felix’ hand, getting his attention. “I have to go...I promised Hyunjin to watch his Quidditch practice...you know, since he’s new at the whole captain thing and everything”, he said. The younger nodded. “Alright, I’ll see you later then?” he asked Changbin. “Sure”, he replied and kissed Felix before heading the other direction. The Gryffindor looked after him until he couldn’t see him anymore, a small smile playing on his lips.

“So, how long have you two been together?” Josh questioned once Felix had directed his attention back on him. The younger smiled. “Almost a year”, he answered, remembering how things were between them a year ago. They were shy and awkward around each other before Felix had finally mustered the courage to ask Changbin out.

He looked up at Josh. The older had grown since Felix had last seen him and he was even more handsome, with his dark brown eyes and those soft black curls that Felix used to love running his hands through so much. He was now less of an awkward teen and more of a man. They had only dated for a few weeks, but Felix remembered how sad he’d been when Josh had left for Auckland. He’d really liked him.

“What’s on your mind, muffin?” Josh questioned with a gentle smile, making the younger snap out of his thoughts. “Oh, nothing...”, he waved off. Josh chuckled lightly, “Alright then...”, he muttered.

“So, what have you been up to around here?” Josh questioned. “Mostly Quidditch, actually. I’m on the team as a Keeper”, Felix answered. “Really? That’s amazing! I’ll make sure to cheer you on during Quidditch games, then”, Josh said, nudging the younger’s shoulder. Felix laughed. “Maybe you shouldn’t do that, considering that my team is going to crush yours this year”, he joked. After their embarrassing loss against Slytherin last year – which was completely his fault – Felix was determined to make up for it this year.

Josh smiled at him. “Well, in that case, I’ll only cheer for you when you’re not playing against my house”, he told Felix. “Seriously, though...I’m really glad we met again”, he added, sounding less joking now. The younger looked up at him, meeting his eyes. “Yeah, me too...it was a really nice surprise. I’ve missed you, Joshua”, he answered.

~

Felix introduced Josh to his friends when they all gathered at the Slytherin table during lunch. He was glad to see that they all seemed to click with him right away. Josh was a really nice guy and easy to befriend, so it would have been a surprise to see his friends resenting him. He enjoyed having the older around again, they joked around about their time together back in Australia, and talked about what they missed the most, while the others got to know Josh a little more.

A week passed and Josh seemed to adapt just fine to life at Hogwarts. Felix was happy to see him spend some time with other seventh-years, but never failing to smile or wave at the Gryffindor when he saw him around.

One afternoon, Eric sat down next to him in class, looking at him with a smirk playing on his lips. “So, who’s that hot new friend of yours?” he questioned. Felix laughed. “Just someone I know from home”, he told the younger, whose eyes widened in delight. “Oh~ a spicy summer fling?” he asked. Felix gave him a weird look. “How do you know that?” “I’ve had my share of those”, Eric told him with a knowing smile.

Right, with Jisung, for instance...

“Anyway, yes...we dated but that’s over”, the Gryffindor said. “It better be. I’m not sure, Changbin would appreciate you getting back together with your ex”, the Hufflepuff pointed out. Felix’ chest did a thing at his words. What would have happened if Josh had never gone to Auckland back then? Would they… still be together? Something about the thought of getting back together with Josh, made some kind of feeling spread in his chest. Was it guilt that he even let the thought cross his mind? Or was it something else…?

Felix shook the thought out of his head. “That’s not happening”, he told Eric in a finalizing tone.

~

“When do I get to see you play Quidditch, muffin?” Josh asked him after class, when the two of them hung out in the clocktower courtyard. Felix chuckled. “Our next game is soon...”, he replied. “But if you want you can come to practice this weekend?” he offered. Josh smiled and seemed to think about it for a second before smiling gently. “I’d like that.”

“So, how are your classes going so far?” Felix asked. “Are you still aiming to become an auror?” He remembered the older telling him about his dream years ago. “Yeah, I am... classes are going pretty well, so far. The teachers around here are a lot better than the ones in Auckland. I should have come here sooner”, Josh answered with a small laugh. Felix couldn’t help but agree. It would have been fun to have him around sooner.

But what about Changbin?

He furrowed his brows at the thought. What  _about_  Changbin? Nothing would have changed between the two of them if Josh had transferred here sooner, right? He shook his head, earning himself a questioning look from the older. “What is it?” he asked. “Nothing...I just thought about something weird”, Felix answered.

“Anyway, should we head to dinner?” he switched subjects. He wouldn’t see Changbin at dinner today, since he and Hyunjin were down at the Quidditch field again. Josh nodded and got up. “You’re going to have to lead the way, though, because I still get lost around here”, he told the Gryffindor with a chuckle. “Yeah, it’s going to take a while until you’re going to find your way around here...even I get lost sometimes”, Felix laughed and began heading inside.

~

After dinner, which he’d spent with Josh and some of his friends, Felix was heading to the library to return an Advanced Charms book he’d borrowed a while ago, when Seungmin caught up with him. “Hey, are you going to the library?” the Ravenclaw asked. Felix nodded. “I’ll come with you”, he said. “It’s rare to see you without Hyunjin these days”, Felix joked, making Seungmin chuckle. “I guess that’s true...but we just don’t seem to grow sick of each other”, he answered with a fond smile on his face.

“That reminds me...I didn’t see Changbin at lunch”, Seungmin said. “I know, he told me he was with Hyunjin, actually”, Felix answered. The Ravenclaw looked at him, gnawing at his lip a little bit. “What is it?” “I’m not sure how to say this...it’s about Josh”, Seungmin started, his voice sounding unsure, almost as if he was reluctant to even bring up the subject. Felix tilted his head. “What about him?”

Seungmin gnawed at his lip some more, taking a few seconds to answer. “Okay, don’t get me wrong...Josh is a really nice guy, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you”, he finally stated, giving the Gryffindor next to him a rather serious look.

Felix looked back at Seungmin, an exasperated expression on his face. “What do you mean? We broke up years ago”, he said, unable to stop himself from sounding a little defensive. “I know, but from what you’ve told me, the relationship ended pretty abruptly because he moved away. I’m just saying, last year my relationship almost got ruined because of another guy. I just don’t want the same thing to happen to you and Changbin”, Seungmin explained himself.

Felix thought about his words. He and Josh really had broken up rather suddenly. They were happily dating all summer until Josh dropped the bomb that he would be going to a wizarding school in Auckland and that it was better to end things on good terms right now. Felix had been devastated, but he’d understood. Even though, he’d wished for nothing more than to be able to go to the same school as Josh. He’d already been stoked when he’d found out that the older was a wizard just like him, who had attended school in the US. He’d wished Josh could have transferred to Hogwarts, so they could continue being together.

And now Josh was here. Two years later. The weird feeling spread in Felix’ chest again and he finally knew what it meant. It was doubt. Of course, he had caught on to the way Josh still called him muffin and now that he thought about it, the older did seem pretty fond of him. More than just an ex-boyfriend... But did that mean, he still had leftover feelings for Josh? If so, what would that mean for him and Changbin? He didn’t want to fight with the older if he found out that he might not be completely over Josh after all. He loved Changbin... he just wasn’t sure about his feelings for Joshua.

“Anyway, as I said, I’m just trying to look out for you”, Seungmin ripped Felix out of his thoughts, after the older had stayed silent for a while. The Gryffindor looked at him, giving him a small, albeit forced smile. “Thanks...”, he replied, as the two sixth-years continued their way to the library, but the thoughts kept spiraling in Felix’ mind. He mentally slapped himself for even thinking about having feelings for anyone other than Changbin. It just wasn’t fair to his boyfriend. But he also couldn’t just ignore it… What was he going to do?

~

Changbin couldn’t exactly say that he was happy about practically having to be around Josh every day. The guy was nice and everything, and he seemed to make a great effort to befriend Changbin, but there was just something about the way he interacted with Felix. The way he still called Felix ‘muffin’, the way he ruffled Felix’ hair from time to time, the way he generally was really close to Felix whenever they had a conversation.

Changbin usually tried to blame it on his jealousy and hoped that he was only imagining things, but there was no doubt that the way Felix and Josh looked at each other was beyond worrying. He got a bad feeling in his gut just thinking about it.

Maybe Changbin was just reading too much into it. He probably wouldn’t even react that way, if he hadn’t known about their history together. So, he did the only reasonable thing he could think about. He consulted Hyunjin.

“Do you think Josh likes Felix?” he questioned one evening, as the two Slytherins made their way back to the common room after Changbin had once again watched Hyunjin practice. The younger was doing pretty well as a captain, which he had told him multiple times, but he enjoyed watching practice, since it kept his mind off Josh for at least a little while.

“What?” Hyunjin asked, clearly shocked at the suddenness of the question. “What makes you say that?” Changbin shrugged. “I don’t know...they were together a while back and...”, he trailed off. “Exactly, a while back! I don’t think Josh is still hung up over something that’s been over for years. Besides, Felix loves you!”

Changbin smiled a little, feeling a bit better. “On top of that, the guy’s really nice. I don’t think he would just go and steal your boyfriend. He’s not like  _Sangyeol_ ”, Hyunjin spat the Ravenclaw’s name. Changbin could understand. That little rat had tried to break Seungmin and Hyunjin up last year and he had almost succeeded. He remembered how insecure Hyunjin had felt about himself...he didn’t want to go through the same thing.

“You’re right...”, he admitted. Josh seemed genuinely nice. Maybe it was really time for Changbin to give the guy a chance. It would certainly mean a lot to Felix for his boyfriend to get along with his friends. Because that’s all he and Josh were...friends. It was time to stop overthinking.

~

After an entire week of nothing but rain and clouds, the weather had suddenly decided to be comfortably warm for a change. The sky was clear, and a light breeze was washing over the castle – a perfect day to spend out in the soft October sun. So, Josh and Felix had decided to do just that and met up down by the lake after class. They would’ve asked Changbin to join them, but the said Slytherin had a class in Care of Magical Creatures.

They had brought along a few snacks and talked about their memories from Australia, Josh’s first week in Hogwarts and the school he used to attend in Auckland.

“Hogwarts is so nice. The school back in Auckland was much smaller and we didn’t have as many students or a beautiful lake like this on campus. We also didn’t have a Quidditch team. It was banned because the headmaster claimed that it was too dangerous because of an accident that happened 20 years ago or something”, Josh told Felix and paused. “I would’ve loved to join a Quidditch team…”, he added, a reminiscent smile on his face as he watched the calm water of the large lake in front of them.

A few seconds of comfortable silence passed before Josh turned to Felix. “The students here are also much cuter than the ones in Auckland”, he said, nudging Felix with a grin playing on his lips. The Gryffindor scoffed, slapping Joshua’s shoulder in embarrassment and earning a warm chuckle from him.

“No, but seriously, muffin. I’m happy to spend time with you again”, the Slytherin confessed honestly, looking into Felix’ eyes. Felix looked up at him, sensing a familiar feeling bubble up in his chest as his eyes traveled to Joshua’s lips. How soft Josh’s lips would feel against his…

That’s when Felix snapped out of his gaze and abruptly jumped to his feet with widened eyes, causing Josh to get up as well and give him a confused chuckle. “Is everything alright?” he asked. “Y-yeah… I just remembered that I uh… forgot about an assignment that’s due tomorrow”, the younger lied and excused himself, saying that he needed to head back to the Gryffindor common room. Josh seemed a bit confused, but smiled nonetheless, wishing Felix good luck with his assignment and a good night.

As soon as he had made it back to the castle, he found himself running through the corridors as fast as he could. He didn’t even really know whether he was running into the right direction. All he knew was that his head was spinning, and that he felt so guilty he could cry. Nothing happened, but he still felt like a cheater.

What did all of this mean? Felix knew he loved Changbin, he was sure of it, but how could he be with him if he wasn’t sure whether he still had any lingering feelings for Josh? It just wasn’t fair to Changbin.

Felix stopped running, catching his breath and ignoring the confused looks he got from the students around him. He needed to clear his mind. He couldn’t just keep pretending that nothing was wrong. He needed to figure himself out before he could properly look Changbin in the eyes again, without feeling guilty and dishonest. And he needed to do it as soon as possible.

~

Changbin was rather surprised when he found his boyfriend waiting for him outside of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom the next day after his last class of the day. He was about to greet him with a kiss, but Felix turned his face, so his lips landed on the younger’s freckled cheek. He furrowed his brows in confusion.

“What is it?” he asked, concerned. Had he done something to upset Felix? He couldn’t think of anything. Sure, they hadn’t spent that much time together lately, because of Changbin monitoring Quidditch practice for Hyunjin and Felix helping Joshua adapt to Hogwarts, but the Slytherin had been under the impression that they were fine.

As it turned out, he was wrong.

“I think we should take a break”, Felix said finally, making Changbin’s eyes widen. “W-what? Why?” he asked, beyond confused. Felix lowered his head. He looked pale and sad, exhausted even. The Slytherin wanted to take a step forward and take Felix’ hand; tell him that they would be fine, but he stood frozen in the same spot. He didn’t even know what was wrong. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Felix looked up at him again.

“I just shouldn’t be with you right now. I have to sort some stuff out in my head and it...it just wouldn’t be fair to you”, Felix told him. Changbin’s mouth fell open in shock. “B-but...”  _You can’t leave me. I love you._  It’s what he should have said, but the words got stuck in his throat. He thought, he could see tears brimming in the Gryffindor’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Changbin”, was all Felix said, before turning on his heel and running off, leaving the Slytherin behind, confused and heartbroken. The pain in Changbin’s chest felt like someone had pierced it with a poisoned arrow. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. Felix had really just...broken up with him. And he hadn’t even told him a good reason. What kind of stuff did he have to sort out?

After a solid five minutes of just standing in front of the classroom, he finally felt like he was able to move again and slowly began trotting in the direction of his common room. He felt numb and empty but at the same time, he wanted to scream and cry. Everything had been okay between him and Felix, until...until Josh appeared. Of course, it had to have to do with him. There was no other explanation.

He reached the common room, where Hyunjin was sitting on one of the green couches, reading a book. A few other students were lurking around, but it was mostly empty around here, since most students were probably trying to enjoy the last bits of sun before it got colder. Changbin already felt very cold. Maybe that was because his personal sun had just left him...

Hyunjin looked up from his book when Changbin came closer. “Sup”, he said, his brows furrowing when he noticed Changbin’s gloomy expression. He sat up straight and put the book aside. “What’s wrong?” Hyunjin questioned. Changbin didn’t want to cry, but he couldn’t stop the tears from building up in his eyes, blurring his vision and threatening to roll down his cheeks. He wanted to tell Hyunjin, whose expression became more and more worried as he waited for Changbin to give him an answer, what had happened, but the words got stuck in his throat.

“What is it, Binnie?” Hyunjin asked again. That’s when the dam broke and Changbin started crying uncontrollably, falling onto the couch and practically clinging onto his confused best friend.

He didn’t care about the other students giving them quizzical looks, he couldn’t stop crying if he tried. He felt Hyunjin’s arms wrap around him, his hands rubbing soothing circles into his back, as he sobbed into his younger friend’s robes. “Binnie...what happened?” he asked carefully. Changbin tried to tell him, he really did, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, the only thing coming out was more sobs.

It took Hyunjin a whole 20 minutes to calm him down enough to talk. He was still sniffling and hiccupping, silent tears were running down his cheeks, no matter how fiercely he tried to wipe them. Hyunjin took his hand and looked at him. “What’s going on? Did something happen?” he asked, clearly concerned. Changbin understood his worries. He had never broken down crying in front of the younger before. Then again, Felix had never shattered his heart before.

“F-felix just b-broke up with me...”, he finally croaked out. Hyunjin’s eyes widened in surprise. “He did what? Why would he do that?” he exclaimed. Changbin lowered his head, trying his best not to break down again. “I have no idea...”, he told Hyunjin honestly. The younger Slytherin pulled him into another hug, for a lack of words to say.

It was safe to say that neither of them had ever seen this coming.

“Want me to beat him up for you?” Hyunjin offered, sounding serious. Changbin wasn’t sure if he meant it or not, but he just shook his head, mumbling a barely audible “no...” When they pulled out of the hug, the older noticed how pissed Hyunjin looked. So that offer about beating Felix up had probably been a serious one. But no matter how much Felix had hurt him, Changbin didn’t want him to get hurt in any way.

“Fine...should I talk to him, then?” Hyunjin offered, taking ahold of Changbin’s hand again. The older just shrugged. “I don’t know...I think I just want to go lie down...”, he mumbled. Hyunjin gave him a look full of sympathy. “It’ll be okay, I promise”, the younger Slytherin assured him. Changbin wasn’t sure if he could believe that. If he wasn’t with Felix, how could things ever be okay again?

He got up, his whole body feeling heavy, before heading towards the seventh-year dorm. His head was hurting from all the crying and he could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him the whole way.

When he entered the dorm, ready to crawl underneath his covers and never come out again, he was met with none other than Josh. The new Slytherin smiled at him. Why the hell was this guy even in Slytherin if he was so damn nice all the time? Then again, the same could be asked of Hyunjin. Probably also a family tradition...

“Hi, Changbin!” Josh greeted him with a genuine smile. Changbin was clearly not in the mood to talk to him, so he just held up a hand to stop the other from talking. “Don’t! You’ve already done enough...”, he told him in a defeated tone of voice. Josh seemed confused. “What’s wrong? What did I do?” he asked, sounding worried, concerned even. Changbin ignored him and went through with his plan of crawling into his bed.

Luckily, Josh decided not to bother him. He just wanted to forget about everything. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he would wake up and this would all turn out to just be a really bad dream.

But, of course, he wasn’t that lucky...


	4. I am [your future]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I'm like a week early, but I just couldn't wait any longer...I'm too impatient for a bi-weekly schedule, but I'm probably gonna have to go back to that once I run out of pre-written one shots, lol  
> Anyway, today's about our graduates! I promise we'll get right back to the drama next week, but I figured today should be softer. This one's about Woojin and Mina and I got really soft while writing it...  
> So, enough of my rambling and here we go (for some reason I'm really nervous about this oh my god)...I hope you guys will like it!

Kim Woojin had had a plan after graduating from Hogwarts. He wanted to study abroad in Romania for one year, learning about dragons before coming back to London, moving into a small apartment of his own and starting a career in the Mistry of Magic’s Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, specifically the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau. He had always pictured himself as more of an outdoors person and he’d originally wanted to apply that to his work.

Reality had something else planned for him, though. He had cancelled his plans for his year abroad in favor of applying for a job at the Ministry right away. Instead of working in the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau, he was now an intern in the Department of Magical Transportation, Portkey Office. And he hadn’t moved out of his parents’ home, yet.

But he didn’t really mind all that, because, despite his plan not working out, he got something much better in return. Quite frankly, Mina getting pregnant a few months before their graduation had been anything but planned and it had gotten them into a lot of trouble, but now, with her due in three weeks, Woojin couldn’t help but feel excited.

He was going to be a father!

It was still hard to believe sometimes, but he wouldn’t change a thing about his current situation. Except, maybe for one little thing...

~

He had run the idea by Chan months ago when he’d helped him, and Minho move into their place. He’d pulled out the little box he’d been carrying around since shortly after they’d left Hogwarts and presented it to the younger.

“I’m thinking about proposing to Mina”, he’d blurted, causing Chan to drop the moving box he was carrying in surprise. He spun around and stared back at his friend. “Really?” he questioned excitedly, before moving closer and examining the ring. It was a silver one with a small diamond on top. It had cost a fortune, but it was worth it. For Mina, it was always worth it.

“I mean, not right now...maybe in a few months when we got a little more used to our current living situation. She’s still sad about her parents being assholes to her. Even though my parents absolutely adore her, she needs to get a little settled first”, Woojin explained. Chan was still closely inspecting the ring, eyes sparkling. Woojin chuckled and shut the box again, causing the younger to snap out of his trance.

“Are you going to do it after the baby comes?” he finally questioned. “I don’t know...I don’t want her to think that I only want to marry her because of the baby...because that’s not the case at all”, Woojin replied. He had been thinking about the right time ever since he’d bought the ring. “She knows that! You already seemed like a married couple before she was pregnant, to be honest”, Chan joked.

“So, you think she’s going to say yes?” “Are you kidding me? Of course, she’s going to say yes!” Chan exclaimed. That made Woojin feel a lot better. Chan and Mina had become pretty close friends, and he knew her quite well, so if he said that she would say yes, Woojin believed him. Now, all that was left was to find the right time.

“Can I see the ring again?” Chan asked giddily. Woojin chuckled fondly at his friend and opened the box again. The younger almost squealed.

“I’m gone for five minutes and Woojin’s proposing to you? I’m hurt, Channie, I thought I meant something to you”, Minho’s amused voice suddenly sounded from the doorway. The two older men looked in his direction, to find him standing there with a box in his arms and a cat-like grin on his face. “Sorry, Minho. I saw my chance and I took it”, Woojin played along.

“Are you two going to fight over me now?” Chan asked with a small chuckle, picking the box back up. “Well, if that’s what it takes!” Minho exclaimed dramatically. He came closer, looking at the ring, which was still open on display. “If she says yes, I want to be a bridesmaid”, he joked. Woojin laughed at his friend’s silliness. “You’re going to have to take that up with Mina, I’m afraid.”

“When are you going to propose?” Minho asked. “When the time is right...”, Woojin replied, even though he still didn’t have any idea when that would be.

~

Woojin had spent months, thinking about when to pop the question until he’d reached a point where he didn’t want to wait any longer. They had been living with his parents for about four months now and Mina seemed to have gotten used to that just fine. So, he figured it was time. Minho and Chan were on his ass about it as well. Minho, because he was apparently a really big sucker for weddings and couldn’t wait to discuss details with Mina; and Chan because he was just really excited for the two of them and couldn’t wait to see two of his best friends getting married.

So, today, October 2nd would be the day! He had filled his parents in a while ago and was happy to tell them that he was going to do it. They would take Mina out while he would prepare everything. He was nervous, because despite Chan and Minho’s assurance, there was still a small chance that she might say no. Woojin liked to think positive.

~

“Woojin? I’m home...your parents said they’d go out to eat so we’re on our own”, Woojin heard Mina’s voice from the front door. He took a deep breath and checked if everything was ready. A few seconds later, Mina stepped into the living room, surprised at the sight of the candles.

“What’s all this?” she questioned. Woojin smiled and motioned for her to sit down. “I thought we could have a nice evening, just the two of us”, he told her. She smiled and sat down. “If you’d told me we’re having a date, I would have dressed nicer”, she said with a laugh, pointing at her joggers. Woojin waved off sitting down next to her on the couch. “You look pretty as always”, he told his girlfriend. Mina smiled at him.

“So, do you want to watch a movie or something?” she asked. Woojin shook his head. “I actually wanted to ask you something...”, he started, turning to face her with his torso. “Sure, what is it?” Mina asked. Woojin took a deep breath. “So...I had this really cheesy speech prepared, actually...but now that I’m here, I kind of forgot all of it, so I’m gonna just wing this...”, he admitted.

“When we got together, I didn’t think things would move this fast between us. That’s not a bad thing, though. I wouldn’t change anything if I had the chance – except maybe almost getting expelled and all the prefects hating us...”, he trailed off. She chuckled, though still looking curious about where he was going with this.

“I just figured that right now our lives aren’t how we pictured them to be. I mean, you wanted to go into wizard politics, and I wanted to work abroad with dragons. But despite that, I feel lucky to be where I am right now with you...I couldn’t picture my life without you, and I can’t wait to finally meet our child. The thing is...I want to spend the rest of my life with you – not because you’re pregnant, but because I love you so much and I feel like we belong together...”

He reached into his pocket and slid off the couch to get on one knee in front of Mina, who gasped in surprise. “So, what I’m asking you is...-”

Mina cut him off with another gasp, this one sounding more pained, though. Woojin’s eyes widened. “You okay?” he questioned, sounding alarmed. “Yeah, yeah...this has been happening all day...”, she told him. “Regularly?” he asked frantically. She nodded. “Yes, about every five minutes. But I’m not due yet...” “Still, we should go to the hospital just to make sure!”

Mina made a pained face, furrowing her brows and leaning back on the couch. “Okay, that was definitely less than five minutes!” Woojin told her. “We’re going to the hospital!” “How? Your parents have the car”, she replied, through gritted teeth. Woojin racked his brain before an idea sprung to his head and he got his newly acquired cellphone out of his pocket.

“I’m calling Chan and Minho”, he announced, already pressing the call button for Chan’s contact. It took about three rings for the younger to pick up. “Woojin?” “Channie, are you free?” Woojin questioned, trying his hardest not to panic. “Sure, what’s up?” the younger asked, sounding a little confused. “I think Mina might be going into labor”, Woojin said.

“WHAT? Oh my god! We’ll be right there!” Chan exclaimed. “My parents have the car. Can you maybe give us a ride?” Woojin questioned, looking at Mina again. She tried to keep a calm face, but he could see that she was in a lot of pain. “Of course. We’ll be there in 10!” Chan told him. They hung up, Woojin silently thanking whatever higher power for Chan getting a driving license with him after graduation. He did  _not_  want to take the subway to the hospital.

“Woojin...”, Mina spoke up, immediately getting his full attention. “Yes, princess?” “You know how we discussed that I’m going into the delivery room myself?” she questioned. Woojin nodded. He remembered them having a long talk about the pros and cons of him being there with her, before ultimately deciding that it was best for both of them if Woojin waited outside. He’d read about fathers unintentionally stressing out the mothers during labor or getting PTSD after witnessing childbirth and as much as he wanted to be there for Mina and hold her hand, he knew she would be more relaxed without him.

“Are you still okay with that?” she asked. Woojin took her hand, which she squeezed, as another contraction kicked in. “All I want is for you to be comfortable and I’ll be right outside the entire time”, the slightly younger assured her. She smiled faintly. “Chan and Minho should be here any minute. Should I get you anything?” Woojin asked her, but Mina only shook her head, still clutching his hand in hers.

Woojin just hoped that his friends would be here soon.

~

“Have you tried calling your parents?” Minho asked a pacing Woojin about half an hour later. He nodded. “Their phones are off...I left each of them a message...”, he replied. They had just gotten the news that this baby would most likely come within the next few hours and Woojin was trying his hardest not to panic. On one hand, he wanted to be with Mina right now, but on the other hand, he figured that he would only freak her out.

“What if she needs me in there?” he asked. Chan stood in his way to stop him from pacing around. “She’ll be fine! You two have agreed on doing things like this and I’m sure she’ll ask for you if she changes her mind”, he assured the older, gently pushing him down on one of the seats. “How are you so calm right now, you’ve been almost as excited about this baby as me”, Woojin asked, causing both Chan and Minho to chuckle.

“Oh, believe me, he’s excited. He kept gushing all the way to your place earlier, but he wants to keep it together for you”, Minho filled him in. Chan gave him a fake glare. “Thanks for exposing me”, he said with a pout, but Minho only stuck out his tongue at him, before laying down on the row of chairs. “Would you mind if I napped a little? I’ve been up at the ministry all night and I barely got any sleep throughout the day...”, he mumbled.

“Go ahead, I got our father-to-be”, Chan assured him with a small smile, as his sleepy boyfriend tried to get comfortable. “Stay here, I’ll get you some tea to calm down”, he addressed Woojin who only nodded, nervously fiddling with his thumbs. A million thoughts ran through his head. He was going to be a  _father_! Sure, he’d known about this for months, but it was just sinking in now. He would meet his child  _very_  soon.

Chan came back with two cups of tea and sat down next to his best friend, handing him one. “She’s going to be alright”, he assured the older. “I decided to propose to her today...”, Woojin told him. Chan’s eyes widened. “Really? Oh my god!” he exclaimed. “Did she say yes?” he questioned. The older actually chuckled a little bit.

“We got a little distracted by her going into labor, so I didn’t actually get to ask her yet. I hope she’ll say yes, though”, Woojin explained. Chan patted his friends’ shoulder. “She’s literally having your baby right now! And she loves you. I don’t see why she wouldn’t say yes”, he assured him. “I really hope you’re right...”

Hours passed, but Woojin only grew more nervous with every passing minute. “Have your parents called you back yet?” Chan questioned. The older pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it. “No, not yet...but, Channie, it’s past midnight”, he stated, looking back at him. Chan furrowed his brows. “So?” he questioned. Woojin laughed and shook his head at his clueless friend.

“It’s your birthday, silly”, he pointed out. Chan’s eyes widened in realization. “You’re right!” he exclaimed, “And the baby might come today!” Woojin grinned widely at the thought. It would be really meaningful if his child shared a birthday with his best friend. Minho stirred awake. “What did I hear about the baby?” he questioned sleepily.

“We might share a birthday”, Chan explained, a giddy smile on his face. Woojin chuckled. “I think I’m going to cry”, the younger mumbled dramatically. “Save the tears for later, Channie”, Minho told him, sitting up and leaning into his boyfriend’s side. “Happy birthday, though”, he muttered, still sounding sleepy. Chan smiled at him. “Thanks, babe”, he answered.

“Woojin!”

Woojin looked up when he heard his mother’s voice. She seemed to try her hardest not to run when she approached him, quickly followed by his father. “We’re so sorry, we didn’t get your message until now!” she apologized, pulling her son into a hug. “How is she? Any news?” his father questioned. “Nothing, yet”, Woojin answered, throwing a glance in the direction of the delivery room.

“Why’d you take her to a muggle hospital? Don’t you think St. Mungo’s would have been better?” Mrs Kim questioned, looking around. “Mina preferred a muggle hospital”, Woojin explained. “We discussed it a while back and-”

Suddenly, the doors to the delivery room opened and the doctor stepped out, a small smile on his face, as he approached Woojin. “Mr Kim?” he asked. Woojin was immediately alert, staring at the doctor hopefully. “Congratulations, it’s a healthy little girl”, the doctor announced. His parents, Chan and Minho broke out in cheers, the latter two jumping from their seats to hug.

Meanwhile, Woojin was left speechless. He was a father. He had a real  _daughter_  and she was right through that door! He felt congratulatory hands pat his back and his mother giving him an excited hug. “C-can I see her?” Woojin asked, still unable to wrap his head around everything. He felt overwhelmed he wanted to cheer and cry, but first and foremost he wanted to see his girls. “Of course, she was just cleaned and measured and has now returned to her mother. Please follow me”, the doctor told him. Woojin shot a quick look at the others, before nervously following the doctor through the door.

There Mina was, looking exhausted, but in the most beautiful way possible, crying and smiling at the same time. And in her arms, she held the most precious little human that Woojin had ever laid his eyes on. He carefully approached them, meeting his girlfriend’s overjoyed eyes. He looked down at his daughter again. She had a thin layer of black hair on her head and even though, her eyes were closed, Woojin knew they were beautiful.

“She’s amazing...”, he whispered, still in awe at the sight of his child. “She really is...”, Mina agreed. Woojin smiled at her and leaned down to kiss his girlfriend’s forehead. “Are you feeling okay?” he questioned. Mina nodded, looking up at him. “I’m absolutely exhausted and I have no idea how I haven’t passed out yet...but I’m fine”, she told him. Woojin chuckled fondly.

“Do you want to hold her?” Mina asked him. Woojin’s chest felt warm and his stomach was bubbling with excitement and nervousness alike. “Sure”, he answered. The fear of doing something wrong washed over him quickly. He’d been to all the child birth classes with Mina in the past few months, so he wasn’t entirely clueless, but he was still a little unsure.

He sat down on the edge of Mina’s bed, while she carefully put the baby into his arms. “Make sure you support her head”, she instructed quietly. Woojin did as he was told, gently rocking the little angel in his arms. He still couldn’t believe it. He felt his eyes starting to water with the happy tears that finally wanted to come out.

She was so tiny, Woojin realized. He found himself fascinated by her small hands and that little face, her tiny nose – everything about her was just so small and fragile. He’d often heard parents say that they fell in love when they first laid eyes on their child, but it was nothing compared to the actual experience. Woojin felt a strong urge to protect his little girl from all harm and evil in the world.

~

Woojin didn’t know how much time passed, but eventually Mina was transferred from the delivery room to the postnatal ward. He was so caught up in his little family bubble that he almost forgot about the rest of his family waiting outside. His parents quickly came in to check on them and meet their granddaughter, before deciding to let the new mother rest and head home.

“Did Chan and Minho go home?” Mina questioned. Woojin shook his head. “I don’t think so, I can send them home, though, if you really want to rest”, he offered. Mina smiled. “It’s okay. I think we should tell Chan about what we’ve talked about”, she answered.

“Do you want me to get them?” Woojin asked. Mina nodded before focusing her attention back on the little girl who was back in her arms. Woojin stepped outside where Minho was half asleep on Chan’s shoulder again. The older of the two looked rather sleepy himself and Woojin felt bad for having them stay here in such an uncomfortable setting. Chan perked up when he saw Woojin, though.

“You can briefly come in, if you like. There’s something we need to tell you, Chan”, Woojin told his best friend with a small smile. Chan looked confused but proceeded to gently shake his boyfriend awake before they both got up from their respective seats. Woojin led them inside, feeling a sense of pride to be able to show them his little family.

Chan held back an excited noise at the sight of the baby and carefully approached Mina’s bedside. “Oh my god, she’s precious”, he whispered. Minho watched from a safer distance, albeit with a fond smile on his face, at the sight of his excited boyfriend. “Did you decide on a name yet?” he asked Mina, who looked up to quickly exchange a look with Woojin.

“We actually thought about a name a while ago”, Mina started. Chan looked from Mina to Woojin and back. “Well? What is it?” he questioned, barely able to contain his excitement. The young mother looked at Woojin, as a sign to tell him. The former Hufflepuff looked at his best friend, the smile on his face widening.

“Her name is Kim Chanhee...after you, because you’re my best friend and because you were there for Mina when that whole drama at school happened and-...hey, are you crying?” Woojin cut himself off. Chan’s eyes had gradually grown wider and only now did he realize that they had started to fill with tears. The younger sniffled. “No!” he argued, followed by another sniffle. Minho laughed quietly and walked over to pull his boyfriend into a hug.

“I-it’s just that...you named your kid after me and that’s like the sweetest thing ever and I love you guys so much”, Chan cried, half leaning into Minho. Mina chuckled. “Is now a bad time to ask if you want to be her godfather?” she questioned, causing Chan to cry even more. Minho ran his hand through his boyfriend’s blonde locks.

“I think you two broke him”, he stated in amusement. “I’m fine!” Chan said with a sniffle, standing up straight again and wiping his eyes. “I’d be honored”, he answered Mina’s previous question. Woojin chuckled at the state his best friend was in right now.

“I owe you 50 bucks, by the way”, he suddenly remembered, causing Chan to give him a quizzical look. “Remember that bet we made on the Hogwarts express last summer? You were right about Chanhee being a girl”, he explained. Realization flashed over Chan’s face before his face broke out into a smile. “It’s okay, I don’t need 50 bucks when I got the sweetest goddaughter in the world”, he told the older.

“She really is adorable”, Minho commented, looking at the baby with fondness in his eyes. “But, despite that, I think it’s time to let you three rest now. We should get home”, he said. Chan nodded in agreement. “That’s right. And I believe Woojin still has to ask Mina something”, he added with a small wink. Woojin thought about the ring that was currently resting in his pocket and the nervousness from before came back again.

“We’ll see you later. Tell us if you need anything”, Minho said, taking Chan’s hand and leading him out of the room and leaving the fresh parents alone with their child. Mina looked at Woojin knowingly, a small smile playing on her lips.

“So, what exactly did you still have to ask me?” she questioned. Woojin sat down on the edge of her bed again, gently reaching out to caress his daughter’s cheek with one finger, before looking at Mina again. “Well, earlier, I was in the middle of asking you...”, he trailed off, fishing the box out of his pocket and opening it, presenting the diamond ring to her.

“Will you marry me?”

Mina’s smile widened significantly, and she sat up properly to kiss Woojin. “Of course, I’ll marry you”, she told him. Woojin grinned. He didn’t think this day could get any better! Mina let Woojin slip the ring onto her finger, before pulling him into another kiss; careful as to not squish their newborn daughter between them.

“I love you”, Mina said. “I love you, too”, Woojin answered, reaching out to put a strand of Mina’s hair behind her ear. Next, he leaned down and pressed a feather-light kiss onto his daughter’s little forehead.

“And I love you, Kim Chanhee...”


	5. I am [still unsure]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah...we decided to throw our update schedule over board. We didn't want to keep you waiting any longer so we're updating right now
> 
> We hope you're gonna like it!

 

Two days had passed since Changbin’s and Felix’ breakup and the latter hadn’t spoken to anyone about it. Sometimes he was really grateful to be the only Gryffindor left in his closer friend group. It spared him the invasive questions. Of course, he knew that he couldn’t hide out forever, but he needed some distance from everything.

He had gotten pretty good at avoiding Changbin – it was just too painful to see him after Felix had broken his heart. Even just thinking about him made a feeling of sadness mixed with his guilt bubble up in Felix’ chest. Avoiding Hyunjin, however, was a different story.

~

“Felix!”

The Gryffindor froze at the sound of Hyunjin’s approaching voice. He was currently sitting next to the entrance of the library, trying to distract himself from his conflicting feelings by throwing himself into his favorite school subject – Charms. He almost felt like he could apply as the new Charms professor because of how much he had studied over the last two days.

Hyunjin came to a halt next to the table Felix was working at, crossing his arms over his chest. “Care to explain yourself? I’ve been trying to talk to you for two days now!” the Slytherin told him, sounding rather mad. Felix sighed and got to his feet to at least be somewhat close to Hyunjin’s eye level.

“I’d rather not talk about this right now. Just punch me in the face and leave me alone”, Felix replied, trying to sound indifferent, even though he really wasn’t. Hyunjin had become a friend to him and to see him looking at him with so much anger in his eyes wasn’t exactly the best feeling. He felt bad about making both Changbin and Hyunjin hurt like this.

“As much as I want to punch you, I’m not letting you off that easily! Last year you felt threatened by me and now that we finally got that out of the way, you go ahead and dump Changbin? What did he do to deserve that?” Hyunjin questioned, raising his voice in anger. The librarian shot him a warning look, but he really didn’t seem to care. Felix had rarely seen him look this intimidating.

“He didn’t do anything. It’s me...”, Felix told him, causing the older boy’s eyes to widen. “You didn’t cheat on him, did you?” he asked, his hands already balling into fists. The Gryffindor quickly shook his head. “No! Of course not!”, he assured him hastily and Hyunjin visibly relaxed. His features even softened the slightest bit and he let out a sigh.

“Felix... I’m mad at you for hurting Changbin. But you can still talk to me”, he replied. Felix captured his lip between his teeth and paused, avoiding Hyunjin’s eyes. “You wouldn’t get it... I had to break up with him...” he said. Hyunjin’s brows furrowed. “Did someone make you? Because I’ve been there-”

“No...it was my decision...”, Felix interrupted him, making Hyunjin sigh in frustration. “You’re not making any sense right now!” he exclaimed, earning one more warning look from the librarian. Felix had avoided this topic as best as he could for the past two days, but he figured that the only way to satisfy Hyunjin was to tell him the truth. He sighed one last time before finally looking at Hyunjin.

“It’s about Josh... you know that we dated a few years ago, right? Well, there’s a possibility I might still... like him. And I don’t want to do this to Changbin...” Hyunjin looked at him blankly for a few seconds, needing a moment to process the situation.

“Oh, Felix...”, he muttered, sounding resigned. “You better make up your mind because Changbin won’t be hung up on you forever. I won’t let him.” Felix lowered his head. “I never meant to hurt him. I’m just confused, and I can’t be with Changbin if I might still have feelings for another guy... it wouldn’t be fair”, he tried to explain himself. Hyunjin exhaled and a few seconds of silence passed before he spoke up again.

“Let’s just hope this is fixable... I have to go now...”, Hyunjin told him, already turning to leave. “Thanks for not punching me in the face...”, the younger said and Hyunjin just shrugged. “You have Changbin to thank for that”, he answered, before taking off.

~

“Come on, Binnie...”, Hyunjin said, holding out a slice of toast to his best friend. He’d had to practically force some food into him, not wanting him to skip any meals. Changbin wished that Hyunjin would just leave him alone. But then again, he was glad that he didn’t. He knew that he would be the same if Hyunjin was in his shoes.

Only that Seungmin would never break up with Hyunjin for another guy, Changbin thought bitterly. Of course, the younger had told Changbin all about his encounter with Felix and his reason for dumping him.

Changbin felt stupid. He knew that this was about Josh. The way Felix had reacted to seeing him, the way he’d practically forgotten all about Changbin’s existence when he was around. It had only been a matter of time...

He just wished he would have realized sooner. He also couldn’t help but wonder… what if Changbin had just been a way for Felix to get over Josh in the first place? They’d only broken up because of Josh’s move after all. Just the thought of that caused a pain to spread in Changbin’s chest.

“Binnie, you need to stop overthinking. There’s nothing you could have done”, Hyunjin said, looking worried, almost as if he had read his mind. Changbin took the slice of toast from Hyunjin and quickly ate it, without anything on it, just to get Hyunjin off his back for now. “Whatever, I’m skipping today...”, he said, getting up from the breakfast table and leaving his friend behind without further words. On his way to the door, he saw Seungmin, who patted his shoulder in passing, before continuing to make his way to Hyunjin.

Changbin just headed to his dorm without looking at anyone.

~

“How’s he holding up?” Seungmin asked Hyunjin once he’d joined him at the Slytherin table. Hyunjin still had a worried expression lingering on his face. “Not very good. He’s barely eating anything and he’s shutting everyone out”, he answered and Seungmin hummed in thought.

“I feel like this is partly my fault, too. I talked to Felix the other day, about how Josh clearly still liked him. I just wanted to help, because of what almost happened to us last year, but what if all I helped him with was making his decision to break up with Changbin?” he said, looking down to his hands, feeling incredibly guilty. Hyunjin took one of his hands, making the younger look at him again.

“It’s not your fault, my love... this is all on Felix”, Hyunjin replied, mumbling the last part but Seungmin still heard him. “Don’t be too hard on him... I’m sure this isn’t easy for him either”, the Ravenclaw reasoned, squeezing Hyunjin’s hand. The older grumbled a little bit, before leaning in to press a kiss onto his boyfriend’s cheek. “You’re too good for this world, you know that?” he muttered, giving him a soft smile.

“Don’t feel guilty about Changbin and Felix... none of us could have seen this coming...”

~

“I got mail from Woojin and Mina!” Jisung told Felix the next day, waving a letter around. “Me too!” the Gryffindor answered with a small smile. The news of Woojin’s and Mina’s baby and their engagement at least helped brighten up his mood a little bit. A part of him wished that he could be in London with them and Chan and Minho to figure out his feelings in peace.

“Are you alright?” Jisung asked carefully. Felix sighed and rested his head on the Ravenclaw’s shoulder. He had finally told him the reason for the breakup after also explaining it to Hyunjin. Luckily, Jisung wasn’t one to judge.

“I guess we’re both single now, huh...”, he stated and Jisung patted his back. “Heh... yeah... it would appear so”, he muttered awkwardly. “But, Lix... you didn’t have to break up with Changbin right away, you know. If you’re unsure about Josh, you could have just talked to him about it”, he continued. Felix sat up straight and looked at him.

“I couldn’t even tell him that it was because of my possible feelings for Josh”, he answered. Jisung looked surprised. “Wait, you didn’t even tell him the reason?” “Stop making me feel worse than I already do!” Felix whined. “I don’t know what else to tell you”, the Ravenclaw said, putting up his hands in defense.

“Just be single with me for now, please... I feel like everybody else doesn’t understand, because they’re in a relationship. I mean, apart from Jeongin, because he’s a baby...”

Jisung looked a bit awkward again, but Felix figured that it was because he didn’t entirely agree with his decision. He still dropped the subject and just continued to be there for him, though, which Felix was eternally grateful for.

~

“Felix!”

Once again, Felix froze at the sound of his name, but this time it wasn’t Hyunjin who had called out to him, as he was leaving the Great Hall to head to his next class. He turned around. “Joshua...”, he said, glad that he wasn’t stuttering or anything. He didn’t exactly want the Slytherin to know about his potential feelings for him.

Joshua Wen wasn’t an idiot, though.

“Did you break up with Changbin because of me?” he asked straightforwardly, causing Felix’ eyes to widen. “U-um... I don’t know, I’m confused...”, he admitted in a small voice. Josh put a hand on the younger’s shoulder. “Listen, muffin, the last thing I wanted was to come between you and your boyfriend. I guess I wasn’t exactly subtle about still liking you, but this really wasn’t what I wanted...”

Felix averted his gaze, looking down at his feet. “It’s not your fault... I just need to sort things out”, he told Josh truthfully. This felt weird. Here he was talking to Joshua, but he couldn’t even face Changbin. Well, to be fair, he hadn’t actually planned on running into Joshua.

“I-I should probably...”, he trailed off, motioning in the direction of the stairs. Josh nodded and took a step back from him. “I’ll see you around”, Felix mumbled, before quickly storming off to his class, hating how flushed his cheeks were. Joshua had always had that effect on him.

He once again thought back to the summer they’d met. Joshua had been sweet, constantly making Felix blush with his charming words and cute actions. They had ended things on friendly terms, but in such a bittersweet way. Felix couldn’t help but keep wondering how things would have turned out if Josh had transferred here earlier. But then he remembered, that despite his previous summer romances, he had always had this infatuation with Changbin. He’d felt drawn in by his mysterious, sometimes dark facade and even more so, when he’d figured out that he was a soft ball of sunshine behind it.

He remembered their first date, their first misunderstanding that ultimately led to them getting together. He remembered his first kiss with Changbin. He remembered how it felt when he’d first realized that he really loved him.

Drowning in his thoughts, Felix decided to ditch class after all and instead headed back to his dorm, figuring that he wouldn’t be able to focus anyway. He took a seat on his bed and looked at the picture frame on his nightstand. He’d turned it over after he’d broken up with Changbin, but now he put it back up and looked at it again. It was the drawing the older had made of him last year. Felix admired the detail the Slytherin had put into the drawing. It was like he had counted the freckles on his face to make it look accurate.

Felix sighed and pulled out a box from under his bed. It was locked, but he quickly grabbed the key out of his nightstand drawer. He was met with a bunch of letters; some from his family, some from his friend Stan... but he was only looking for one letter in particular...

_Dear Felix_

_First of all, don't you dare laugh at me for writing this cheesy letter. I was forced to-_

_No... that's the wrong approach... I'm really not good at this..._

_The real reason why I'm writing this is because I've been thinking that I don't show you my emotions enough. You're always so open about your feelings for me and I love that, and I feel the same for you, but I just really suck at expressing it._

_I... I want you to know how much I appreciate having you in my life and that I don't take you for granted and your affection for me makes my heart flutter like crazy and I just don't know what to do..._

_I look forward to seeing you every day and you're all I think about when I don't see you._   _I've never felt about anyone like this before and I don't want you to feel like this is one sided or anything because it really isn't._   _I want to be close to you all the time because I'm the happiest when I'm with you. It's like I wasn't the real Changbin before I met you... like you completed me._   _That's why I'm saying the least I can do for you is try to be more open and honest with you from now on because..._

_Because I love you... so much that I wrote this embarrassing letter..._

_I can't imagine being with anyone but you..._

_I will try harder for you, I promise..._

_  
I love you_

_Your Changbin_

_Your Binnie_

_Your Binniebunny_

Tears were already running down Felix’ face by the time he’d reached the end of the letter. He remembered the day Changbin had given this letter to him, how he had nervously eyed Felix while he was reading the letter, anxiously waiting for his reaction. Changbin really meant so much to him… and Felix realized just how much he’d hurt him.

He knew he didn’t deserve Changbin after what he had done, but he wasn’t sure if he could go on without him...

~

Changbin really wanted to hate Josh with every fiber of his being.

But he couldn’t, simply because the guy was so nice. Genuinely nice. He reminded Changbin of Hyunjin, too genuine and soft to even be in Slytherin, and they probably maybe would have been friends if they’d met under different circumstances.

“Hey… can I talk to you for a second?” Josh carefully questioned one evening, as Changbin was just getting ready for bed. He had finally started regularly attending his classes again, after a week and a half. He didn’t exactly want to talk to Josh, but the pleading look, in the other Slytherin’s eyes made him sigh and motion for him to go on.

“I should have said this sooner, but I’m really sorry about stirring things up...”, Josh told him, an apologetic look on his face. Changbin didn’t really know what to say to that. He was aware that Josh hadn’t planned for this to happen either, but that didn’t change the fact that Felix had left him.

A few seconds of silence passed. Changbin wanted to say something but the words got stuck in his throat. He couldn’t help but get reminded of Felix breaking up with him whenever he looked at Josh. So, instead, he just nodded and got into his bed without saying a word.

~

“Joshua”

The Slytherin stopped in his tracks when Felix called out to him, looking surprised. The younger had made it his mission to sort things out as soon as he could the next morning. Of course, he knew that Joshua had a Potions class that morning, so he decided to wait for him in front of the classroom.

“Oh, Felix, hi. Changbin isn’t here, he had to leave early to attend the prefect’s meeting”, Joshua explained with a smile. “I know… I’m actually here to see you”, Felix replied, trying not to look as awkward as he felt. “Oh? What is it?”

“You see, um… Well, I…” Felix started before taking a deep breath, trying to organize his words. Joshua just gave him a patient smile. “What we had back in Australia was really special to me and it still is and…  _you’re_ still special to me…” he said and took another deep breath. “But during this time off with Changbin I realized just how much I need him and… I can’t let go of him.”

“I understand, Felix”, Joshua replied as he put a hand on Felix’ shoulder. “I’m sorry, Joshua… Maybe I’m being way too dramatic with this whole thing, but I didn’t want to betray Changbin. I love him…” the Gryffindor added. “Don’t apologize to me, Felix. You and Changbin were made for each other. I’ll be fine”, Joshua chuckled, earning a grateful smile from Felix before giving him a hug.

“Now go and apologize to Changbin. He really isn’t doing well without you. Plus, I’m scared that he’ll kill me in my sleep someday if this goes on any longer”, the older admitted, probably only half-jokingly. Felix gave him another bright smile before heading to the dungeons.

Luck seemed to be on Felix’ side that day, since it only took him a few minutes to find Hyunjin exiting the Great Hall with Seungmin. Hyunjin looked displeased at first but soon softened up when Felix told him about his decision and that he wanted to talk to Changbin as soon as possible. Hyunjin told him that he would handle this, and that Felix should wait in front of the Slytherin common room at 6 pm.

~

Felix was pacing back and forth in front of the Slytherin common room, feeling anxious. What if Changbin didn’t forgive him? Well, not that he could blame him for that… he did fuck up big time. Or what if he did forgive him but things didn’t go back to the way they were? What if he had ruined things between them for good?

Felix felt himself getting more and more anxious by the second. After what felt like an eternity, Felix finally heard the common room door open and turned around to see Changbin appear in front of the stone wall. He looked surprised to see Felix waiting for him instead of Hyunjin.

“This was a setup, wasn’t it”, was all he said after a pause. Felix opened his mouth to say something, but Changbin had already turned on his heel, muttering, “I’m going back inside…”

“Wait!” Felix panicked, “Please… hear me out first”, he added hastily. Luckily, Changbin stopped and turned back around, still looking rather weary. Felix took a deep breath.

“I’m so sorry… about everything”, Felix started as Changbin crossed his arms over his chest, scoffing. “By everything, do you mean ripping out my heart after I finally had enough courage to give it to you, just because of an Australian beach boy you dated for six weeks?” he answered bitterly.

Ouch. Felix nodded to himself, figuring that he did deserve that one. “I know… I wasn’t sure if I still had lingering feelings for Joshua. I thought that if I did, it would be unfair to keep dating you. I thought that if I was going to date you, there should be no second guesses in my mind”, he explained and took a few steps closer to Changbin. The older avoided Felix’ eyes.

“I know now that I should’ve talked to you about it. I was just so overwhelmed and confused and frustrated with myself. I felt guilty and I still do…” he added and noticed a tear running down Changbin’s face. There was a pause until Changbin finally looked at Felix, more tears forming in his eyes.

“So, I’m supposed to just forget that you pushed me away the second your ex-boyfriend showed up? We could’ve found a way together, Felix…” the Slytherin said, trying to wipe away his tears, but new ones would just follow immediately. Felix felt his eyes water up as well, just from seeing Changbin like this.

“Of course not. I know I fucked up, but I love you and I don’t deserve you, but… I need you to know that it’s always been you”, the younger replied, now crying as well. Changbin looked at him for a few seconds before wordlessly shifting his gaze back to the ground. Felix took that as a sign that Changbin wasn’t going to forgive him and slowly turned to leave in defeat.

“Wait”, Changbin called out after a few painful seconds of Felix walking away. Felix immediately stopped in his tracks, almost stumbling over by how abruptly he’d stopped walking. “Never do shit like that again”, he heard Changbin say before he felt two arms wrap around him from behind.

“I’m still mad at you, but… I love you, so I forgive you”, the older added, letting his head rest against Felix’ back. The Gryffindor turned around in Changbin’s arms and looked at him with widened eyes. “Really?” he asked with his bright smile, making Changbin blush a bit. “Yes…” he muttered. Felix then leaned in to connect their lips, almost unable to contain his smile and pulling the other closer by the hips. After pulling away again, he let his forehead rest against Changbin’s, telling him that he was sorry and that he loved him about 10 times.

“Shut up”, Changbin replied eventually, trying hard to hide his own smile.

~

“I'm sorry, Changbin”, Felix pouted as he fed his boyfriend a grape, causing him to chuckle. It was the next day at lunch in the Great Hall. Hyunjin, Seungmin and Sunwoo had joined the two of them at the Slytherin table and everything seemed to have returned to normal. “Stop apologizing, Felix, it's okay, really”, Changbin reassured him for what felt like the 20th time.

“No, I'm such an idiot”, the Gryffindor insisted, the pout still playing on his lips. “I know, but I signed up for that”, Changbin smiled and booped Felix' nose. The younger smiled brightly before connecting their lips.

“Why do I feel like you two are even cheesier than before the whole breakup thing?” Hyunjin stated in a fake-disgusted tone, making Joshua, who had also joined them at the Slytherin table, laugh. “Leave them be, I'm glad they worked it out”, he said.

Changbin pulled away from Felix and turned to Joshua. “By the way, I'm sorry for being rude to you. We had a rough start, but you're a cool guy”, he admitted. “Don't even worry about it. Friends?” Joshua replied, holding out his hand for Changbin to shake.

“Sure, man”, he agreed and took Joshua's hand, earning them both a happy smile from Felix and a round of applause from Hyunjin.

“So, when are you gonna get yourself a boyfriend, Sunwoo?” Felix teased randomly and the group's attention shifted to Sunwoo, who almost choked on his pear juice in surprise.

Hyunjin gave Sunwoo, who'd completely stopped in his movements, an indecipherable look. He seemed more than flustered to be addressed so suddenly.

“I-I don't know, maybe when people in this school stop thinking that they'll get hurt if they get too close to me”, Sunwoo replied awkwardly. “What, why would they think that? You seem very harmless to me”, Seungmin chuckled.

“Well, probably still because of that incident from five years ago...” Sunwoo sighed before shifting his attention back on his meal.

Seungmin furrowed his eyebrows. “Five years ago?” he asked but Hyunjin gave him a look and shook his head. The Ravenclaw seemed confused but took the hint and didn't ask anything else.

“Well, I have to get going anyway, I still need to return this book”, Sunwoo announced, awkwardly showing them a book about the history of house elves. “Go ahead, I’ll see you later”, Hyunjin smiled at him before Sunwoo turned to leave. The Slytherin had just made it out of the Great Hall when Jeongin came over to join the group.

“Oh, Sunwoo just left, didn’t he”, he stated as he took a seat next to Hyunjin, where Sunwoo had sat before. “Yeah, you just missed him”, Seungmin confirmed, making Jeongin pout. “Too bad, I wanted to say hi…” he sighed before grabbing some toast.

“So, Changbin and Felix are back together, yay!” the young Hufflepuff cheered, making the couple smile at his cuteness. “Indeed”, Changbin smiled at Felix.

“And we’re stronger than ever”, the Gryffindor replied, putting an arm around his boyfriend. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was, but he sure as hell wasn’t complaining.


	6. I am [spooked]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!   
> I know we already updated on Monday but we wanted to try getting our upload schedule back on track, so here we are with the second update of the week!   
> I really enjoyed writing this one, despite the fact that we're still so far away from Halloween! We're gonna have some Rensung, Seungjin and some Changlix! Soon there's also going to be a soft new ship so stay tuned for that uwu
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

 

“It was a dark and stormy night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A creepy atmosphere was looming over the students to the point where everyone was scared to walk around alone. Even the ghosts were unsettled-”

“Eric, you’re really shit at telling spooky stories”, Jeongin exclaimed. “Language mister”, Seungmin scolded him playfully, causing the younger Hufflepuff to stick out his tongue at him. “I’m just trying to get everyone in the mood for the party tonight”, Eric complained, pouting at his friends.

“By telling us crappy stories?” Hyunjin teased him. Eric crossed his arms over his chest and pouted even more. “Fine, then...”, he gave up. Felix laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder, before turning to Jisung. “Are you going to take care of the punch again?” he asked.

Jisung grinned. “You know I will”, he said. Eric chuckled. “Sorry, but not even spiked punch will make this party any better. It’s always the same, every single year. Just a bunch of dressed up students dancing and eating for a few hours with our teachers watching our every move. Besides, the Great Hall is always so full with everyone there”, he complained.

“What do you suggest?” Jeongin questioned. The older Hufflepuff smirked secretively. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something spooky”, he promised. Felix snorted. “As long as it’s better than your stories”, he joked, earning himself a half-assed slap on the arm, as his friends laughed at him.

~

It was the evening of the Halloween party down at the Great Hall. Seungmin looked over Hyunjin’s costume, grinning to himself for coming up with the idea last minute. He’d never really had the chance to wear a couple’s costume before, so this Halloween was going to be very special.

“So, what do you think?” Hyunjin asked, spreading his arms to give his boyfriend a better look of his costume. Seungmin’s grin widened. “I think you’re the cutest prisoner ever”, he answered. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit like in the American movies and Seungmin would be lying if he said that it didn’t look ridiculously good on him.

Hyunjin chuckled and stepped closer to wrap his arms around the younger’s waist. “And I think you’re the cutest cop ever”, Hyunjin pointed out. Seungmin reached into his back pocket, pulling out one more accessory to his costume. “Will you still think I’m cute when I arrest you?” he teased, dangling a pair of handcuffs in front of his boyfriend’s face.

Hyunjin fake gasped at the threat.

“I’m not even going to ask how you got those because they do  _not_  look like the plastic ones from the costume shop”, he commented. Seungmin just grinned and put them back in his pocket. “Well, I take my job  _very_  seriously”, he told Hyunjin, who giggled. “In that case,  _officer_ , why don’t we head to the party?” “Gladly”, Seungmin replied.

“Let’s stop by at my dorm first, though. I have to make sure that Sunwoo isn’t just going to spend the evening hiding away in his bed”, Hyunjin pointed out, stepping back and removing his arms from around the younger’s waist. The Ravenclaw nodded and took Hyunjin’s hand, as they headed for the Slytherin common room.

~

“Ugh, I wish we could actually go to that party  _together_ ”, Jisung complained, as he and Renjun made their way down the stairs, heading for the Great Hall. “Me too, but as long as you spare me one dance later, I’ll be fine”, Renjun replied, reaching out to give the younger’s hand a small squeeze before retracting it again. Jisung smiled down at his boots. He had dressed up as a cowboy, which had seemed like a good idea when he’d bought the costume, however, he found himself regretting it when he realized how tight the pants were.

“Maybe I should have bought a bigger size...”, he mumbled to himself. Renjun raised his eyebrow, giving his boyfriend a once-over. He grinned. “I think those look  _pretty_  good on you”, he pointed out, causing Jisung to chuckle. “You know, you’d make a great muggle surgeon”, he told Renjun, complimenting his costume. The older just laughed.

They arrived at the Great Hall, where they immediately stumbled upon Felix and Changbin. Jisung snorted at their couple costumes. Felix was dressed in all white with a halo actually floating over his head and Changbin sported some pretty realistic-looking devil’s horns.

“Aren’t you two just adorable”, Jisung teased. Felix laughed and put an arm around Changbin’s waist. “We figured that we could go with a classic”, he explained. “Though, Felix didn’t really need a costume to be an angel”, Changbin swooned, causing Felix to giggle and give him a light slap on the chest. Jisung grinned, looking at his same-aged friend.

“I beg to differ”, was all he said, remembering some of the pranks they had pulled together back in their earlier days at Hogwarts. If he recalled correctly, they had been dubbed as spawns of Satan more than just once. “ _Anyway_ ”, Felix said, probably eager to change subjects. “Didn’t you guys bring dates?” he asked. Jisung and Renjun exchanged looks.

“Too much of a hassle”, Renjun waved off. Jisung knew for a fact that he’d been asked out multiple times over the course of the last few days, but of course he had turned everyone down. The younger was almost jealous of how popular his boyfriend was, though he couldn’t really blame people for liking Renjun. Jisung had been asked out a few times as well, but he and Renjun had settled for going together, but not  _together_ , so he, too, had kindly declined the offers.

“Yeah, I’m not looking to date anyone right now, so I figured bringing someone here would just end in an awkward way...”, Jisung explained. Changbin and Felix looked at him. They seemed almost sympathetic, like they believed Jisung hadn’t scored a date because he still wasn’t over Eunseo.

“Guys, please, don’t look at me like that. I’m fine, really”, Jisung told them. “If you say so”, Felix answered with a shrug that basically told his friend that he didn’t fully believe him. Jisung pulled on Renjun’s sleeve, wanting to get away from the couple. “Come on, doctor. Let’s dance a little, before I spike the punch”, he said, pulling the older away from the other two and to the dance floor.

“Aw, I guess I’m already using up my one dance with you now, huh...”, Renjun mumbled with a small chuckle. Jisung grinned at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll dance with you as much as you want later”, he promised.

“You okay, though? I mean, they think you’re still hung up on your ex”, Renjun pointed out, as he wrapped his arms around Jisung’s shoulders, beginning to sway to the music with him. Jisung slung his arms around Renjun’s waist, refraining from pulling the older too close.

“I’m fine. Eventually, they’re going to get over it. As long as you believe me that I’m over her, everything’s as it should be”, he answered, only loud enough for his boyfriend to hear. Renjun smiled at him and Jisung almost gave in to the urge to kiss him.

“If you ever want to tell people about us, that’s okay...”, he muttered instead, but Renjun shook his head. “I like things how they are right now. It’s exciting”, he answered, looking around, spotting some of their friends in the crowd, dancing or talking to others. “We’re practically hiding in plain sight”, he added.

Jisung laughed. “I’m actually surprised we haven’t been caught yet”, he pointed out, pulling the older a little bit closer after all, throwing all caution in the wind.

So what if they’d get caught tonight?

~

“Hyunjin, this is a bad idea...”, Sunwoo grumbled, stopping in his tracks in the entrance hall, trying not to step on his cloak. Hyunjin pouted at him. “Come on, Sunwoo. You need to have a little fun. I can’t let you hide in your bed on Halloween!” “But people already think I’m creepy...do you really think dressing up as a Victorian bloodsucker will help?”

“Aw, but you’re the most adorable vampire ever”, Seungmin pointed out, encouragingly. Sunwoo looked down at his outfit. He looked like a 19th century vampire from one of the countless books Hyunjin knew he’d read. “I look ridiculous”, Sunwoo argued. Hyunjin gave him a firm pat on the shoulder

“No, you absolutely don’t. Come on, just one hour? Maybe you’ll end up having fun”, Hyunjin encouraged him. Sunwoo seemed to mull it over in his mind. “I mean...I guess I could spare one hour. But if it sucks, I’ll go back and read...”, he said. Hyunjin chuckled, delighted that his friend had finally agreed. “Alright, man. Let’s go.”

Just as they were about to enter, Jeongin’s voice called out to them: “Wait for me!” The three older boys turned around to see the Hufflepuff come running towards them, holding on to a crown on his head. “I didn’t want to go in alone”, he said, once he’d caught up with them.

“Hey, Jeongin”, Seungmin greeted him. Jeongin grinned. “That’s Prince Jeongin to you, commoner”, he joked cheekily. “Hi, Sunwoo, nice costume”, he now addressed the vampire. Sunwoo looked surprised that Jeongin was talking to him, but he managed a small smile. “Thanks”, he answered. “You, too.”

“Oh, this? It’s not very spooky, is it? I tried to go for more of a dead prince kind of look, but I couldn’t really make it work...”, Jeongin rambled excitedly. Hyunjin chuckled at his talkative younger friend. “Shall we go inside now before the party is over?” he asked, leading the others into the already packed Great Hall.

~

Just as Eric had predicted, the party wasn’t really the most fun. Jisung was glad that it wasn’t actually scary, because he wasn’t too fond of the idea of making a fool of himself in front of Renjun. Even though, considering that they had known each other for ages before getting together, he’d probably managed to do that countless times already. He cringed at the thought.

Renjun was currently getting drinks for the both of them after they had danced enough to get thirsty – so much for one dance only – when suddenly, someone leaned against the wall next to Jisung. When he looked at them, it wasn’t his boyfriend like he’d hoped.

“Jeno...”, he said, albeit a little unenthusiastically. He and Jeno weren’t exactly on bad terms, Jisung would even go as far as to call Jeno a friend, but they had dated on and off in the past, so he was always a little awkward around the older. “I couldn’t help but notice you standing here all by yourself”, the Gryffindor, who was dressed up as a Knight, pointed out.

“Well-” “You know, Jisung. A day isn’t complete without a Knight”, Jeno said, causing Jisung to furrow his eyebrows in confusion. “Say what now?”

He could see Renjun approaching with their drinks in hand, but Jeno didn’t seem like he was going to leave any time soon. “I’m saying, I could be your Knight in shining armor...”, he continued. Was he trying to flirt with Jisung? The younger remembered how Jeno had always been really bad at pickup lines.

Renjun was now in ear shot, giving Jisung a confused look. “What’s going on here?” the older Ravenclaw questioned. Jeno smirked and put an arm around Jisung’s shoulders, which came as more than just a little surprise. “I was just asking this cowboy if he wanted to saddle up and go for a ride”, he joked. At least Jisung hoped that it was a joke. He hadn’t even gotten around to spiking the punch, but there was no way Jeno would do this sober. Maybe Eric had beat him to it...

Renjun handed Jisung his drink before looking at the Gryffindor again: “Sorry, no riding today. He’s got a...doctor’s note”, he told him. Jisung wasn’t sure, but he thought he could hear some tension in Renjun’s tone. He remembered that Renjun had mentioned that he and Jeno also used to date for a while after Jisung had ended things with the Gryffindor.

All in all, this entire encounter was just downright weird.

“Um...I have to pee”, Jisung said, wiggling himself free from Jeno’s arm and quickly making his way through the crowd. It wasn’t the most charming excuse, but he just needed to get out of there. He had just made it out through the entrance hall and into the courtyard to get some fresh air when a hand clasped over his mouth, causing his drink to slip from his hands and fall to the ground. He tried to struggle, but a voice whispered into his ear, causing him to freeze.

“Don’t worry, I came to save you...”

~

“Have any of you guys seen Felix? He was just here one minute and then he was gone”, Changbin asked, as he approached Seungmin and Hyunjin. Sunwoo was nowhere to be found, so Hyunjin figured that he had either mixed with the crowd or gone back to the dorms. “I saw him about an hour ago, but he was with you, then”, Seungmin answered.

“Maybe he just went to get some fresh air”, Hyunjin offered. “Yeah, it’s really stuffy in here”, his boyfriend agreed. Changbin sighed and looked around the Great Hall. “Probably...”, he muttered, though he didn’t seem entirely convinced.

Renjun joined their little group, holding an almost empty cup in his hand. “Did you guys happen to see Jisung?” he asked. “Why is everyone going missing all of a sudden?” Changbin asked frantically. Renjun tilted his head in confusion. “Missing? What do you mean?” he asked. “Felix is gone, and we can’t find Sunwoo”, Seungmin explained.

“Well...this  _is_  a pretty big room...”, Renjun pointed out, even though he did seem the slightest bit alarmed by the revelation. Changbin kept looking around like he expected to spot Felix at any moment. “Yeah, they’re probably here somewhere”, Hyunjin agreed.

“Alright, maybe we should just split up and look for them”, Seungmin suggested, earning a round of nods. “Okay, so Renjun, why don’t you go with Changbin and try to find Felix and Jisung, while Hyunjin and I go look for Sunwoo and Jeongin...”, he instructed.

Changbin and Renjun took off together after giving Seungmin a thumbs up. Hyunjin grinned at his boyfriend. “Seems like you really are taking your job seriously, officer”, he teased. “Yeah, well maybe I should handcuff you to myself, so you don’t go missing as well”, Seungmin replied in the same tone. “Let’s save that for later and try to find our friends first”, Hyunjin said, laughing.

They started making their way through the dancing crowd, in search for Sunwoo and Jeongin. It didn’t take them very long to find the latter, however, they didn’t expect to see him locking lips with a mysterious, masked werewolf. Seungmin and Hyunjin exchanged a surprised look.

The werewolf pulled back from Jeongin and took off without further words, leaving a shocked-looking Prince Jeongin behind, absent-mindedly touching his own lips. The couple approached him.

“Damn, Jeongin, who was that?” Hyunjin questioned, nudging the younger’s shoulder playfully. The Hufflepuff still looked like he had just seen a ghost, when he turned to face his friends. “I actually don’t know”, he answered. Seungmin raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean, you don’t know. You kissed him”, he pointed out. “He kissed me! He just came out of nowhere and...kissed me. He...he stole my first kiss!”

“Do you want me to find him and drag him back here?” Hyunjin offered, cracking his knuckles in what was supposed to be an intimidating way. Jeongin shook his head. “It’s okay, you probably won’t find him...I saw at least five werewolves tonight already...”, he mumbled.

“Anyway, what are you guys up to?” “We’re actually looking for Jisung, Felix and Sunwoo. They seem to have disappeared”, Seungmin explained. “What? I’ll help you find them”, Jeongin said. “I don’t want to disappear as well”, he added, looking slightly frightened. “Alright, then come on...”

Suddenly, an out-of-breath Renjun elbowed his way through the crowd, looking relieved when he spotted the three of them.

“They took Changbin!” he exclaimed. Hyunjin’s eyes widened. What the hell was going on here? Had their friends really been kidnapped? “Renjun, slow down! What happened?” Seungmin asked. Renjun tried to catch his breath for a few seconds, before answering. “We were checking the courtyard to see if the others were outside and suddenly these masked dudes tried to snatch us. I managed to break free, but Changbin was taken!”

“Masked guys?” Hyunjin questioned. He felt Jeongin clutch onto his arm in fear. “Did they say anything?” Seungmin asked. “Well, only that they’re here to ‘save us’”, the older Ravenclaw replied. “Okay, I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of really scared now”, Hyunjin admitted. He and Jeongin were now practically clinging to each other.

Seungmin seemed to think about everything for a short while, before slowly starting to scan the room. “I think I know what’s going on here...”, he said. The other three looked at him questioningly. Seungmin made a dramatic pause, before looking at them.

“Have any of you guys seen Eric tonight?”

~

“Eric! What the hell is going on here?” Changbin exclaimed. He’d been dragged down to the boathouse where music was blasting from magical speakers and a good 20 people were dancing around.

Eric laughed and patted the older on the back. “I promised I would come up with something, so I figured why not have our own party down here...without teachers”, he explained. Changbin raised his eyebrow. “You do realize that I’m a prefect, right?” Eric pouted a little. “Don’t be such a party-pooper! Look, over there! Your boyfriend’s having fun, too...”

Changbin’s eyes followed the direction Eric was pointing in and he saw Felix dancing around with a cup in his hand. He was relieved to see the younger, as he’d been really frightened for a second that something might have happened to him. This castle was mysterious and even dangerous at times, so he was really glad to see that Felix was ‘just’ partying.

He left Eric standing there and went over to his boyfriend. “Binniebunny!” Felix exclaimed upon seeing him, half-drunkenly throwing his arms around Changbin’s neck. “Thank Merlin, I found you, Lix”, the Slytherin said. Felix giggled. “Eric’s friends dragged me here when I stepped out for some fresh air...Jisung’s here somewhere, too”, he slurred.

Changbin chuckled. “Alright, then. Let’s just hope the others find us here as well because I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

~

Seungmin had suspected Eric to be behind the mysterious disappearances of their friends, but he hadn’t expected to see a full-blown party going on down at the boathouse. When Seungmin, Hyunjin, Renjun and Jeongin came in, the first thing they saw was Eric, dressed as The Joker, dancing with an obviously shit-faced Batman Juyeon. Seungmin couldn’t help but snort at the interesting combination.

Renjun spotted Jisung dancing with Sunwoo, who looked pretty awkward, but he definitely seemed to enjoy himself more than he had back in the Great Hall. Maybe it was because of the fact that Eric had seemed to have handpicked the guests of this party.

“Oh, there you guys are!” Eric suddenly exclaimed when he saw them. He pried himself off of Juyeon and approached the others. “Please tell me, you didn’t kidnap people for this party”, Hyunjin said with a chuckle. Eric only grinned. “Well, I had to make it somewhat scary”, he replied.

“You succeeded. I really thought I was going to die when your friends grabbed me in the courtyard!” Renjun exclaimed, though he didn’t seem mad. Eric laughed. “Come on, guys. Have a drink and dance a little! If I get in trouble for this later, I at least want people to say that they had a good time down here”, he told them.

~

“There’s my cowboy.”

Jisung turned to face Renjun, grinning. “You found me!” he exclaimed cheerfully. “They kidnapped me and brought me here...”, he told the older, leaning against him. Renjun chuckled, steadying his boyfriend a little. “You’re drunk, aren’t you...”, he mumbled knowingly, running a hand through Jisung’s hair, since he seemed to have lost his hat.

“A little bit”, Jisung replied, bringing his thumb and pointer finger together for emphasis. “You know what?” he continued, his speech getting a little more slurry. Renjun looked at him fondly. “What?” Jisung looked at him. “I like you...a  _lot_...and I  _really_  want to kiss you”, he slurred.

Renjun laughed quietly. He didn’t remember drunk Jisung to be this cute, but then again, the younger didn’t get drunk that often. “Why don’t I get you back to the dorms and you can kiss me as much as you like, how’s that sound?” the older offered. Jisung let out a tiny “yay”, as Renjun led him out of the boathouse. He quickly told Seungmin that he’d take care of his drunk “friend”, in order to prevent him from worrying about them.

~

“Well, seems like you’ve solved the case”, Hyunjin pointed out, looking around. Seungmin chuckled and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “It would appear so”, he replied. “And I think I deserve a reward for my services”, he added. Hyunjin chuckled, playfully rolling his eyes before leaning closer and kissing his boyfriend.

“Dance with me, officer”, Hyunjin said after they had pulled back, gently taking Seungmin’s hand and leading him towards the dancing crowd. “I’m on duty. Maybe dancing isn’t the best idea...”, the younger protested, but Hyunjin only laughed and spun him around, causing Seungmin to give in.

~

Eric did end up getting in trouble when a furious Professor Sprout burst through the doors of the boathouse and shut the party down. The Hufflepuff took the blame for the evening, not wanting to get his friends into trouble and took his month of detention with pride.

“At least now, I get to say that I threw the best Halloween party Hogwarts has ever seen”, Eric said the next day at breakfast. “Despite that, if you ever kidnap my boyfriend again, I’ll have your head on a stick!” Changbin threatened, but Eric only cackled and threw pea at him.

“This Halloween was a lot better than last year, though”, Jisung pointed out. “Right, I remember...weren’t you and Felix fake dating last year”, Hyunjin said, laughing. “We do not speak of that!” Felix protested. The group continued bickering and laughing over breakfast before going their separate ways to start their day.  


	7. I am [taken]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, we're back already! Today we have another one shot about Jisung and Renjun but don't worry, next week is gonna be all about Seungjin because I'm sure you've missed them just as much as we have lol
> 
> I don't really know what to say lmao, so I'll just cut the rambling and let you read right away!
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

 

Ever since the Halloween party Jisung found himself running into Jeno more frequently. The Gryffindor would constantly start up conversations with him, which was fine – they had somehow managed to become something like friends after their messy on and off relationship that had ended back in their fourth year – but he wasn’t sure he knew that Jisung wasn’t into him anymore.

“So, are you seeing anyone? I heard you and Eunseo are over”, Jeno currently asked, as he and Jisung headed to Potions together. Renjun wasn’t with him because he hadn’t been feeling up to Potions class after going to bed late due to one of his late-night walks. Jisung asked himself why the older never wanted him to come along.

“I have my eye on someone”, Jisung replied vaguely. Jeno grinned, completely unfazed by Jisung’s response. “Whoever it is, I’m convinced that I’m a better fit.” Jisung withheld a snort. “You call constantly being on and off “a better fit”? Sorry, Jeno. I don’t see it...”, he said with a scoff.

They reached the dungeons and Seungmin shot Jisung a confused look upon seeing him enter with Jeno. “Anyway, I’ll go sit over there. See you around”, Jisung said, before making his way over to his best friend, sitting next to him with an exhausted sigh.

“You and Jeno, huh?” Seungmin pointed out. Jisung frantically shook his head. “No, absolutely not!” “Hey, he’s your ex, I won’t judge if you two start something again...”, the younger Ravenclaw told him with a shrug. “Just...be careful. I didn’t know you for a very long time back then, but it didn’t seem like the healthiest relationship”, he added, a tinge of worry laced in his voice.

Jisung was so touched by Seungmin’s concern that he almost forgot to assure him that nothing was going on between him and Jeno. Almost. “Nothing’s happening between me and Jeno. He’s just trying to get back with me since Halloween”, he told him. Jeno was a nice guy, but he hadn’t been the best boyfriend.

Maybe the reason had been their age, but Jeno had been overly jealous, glaring daggers at everyone who’d looked in Jisung’s direction, always keeping a possessive arm around his shoulders as he did so. They’d kept fighting about the most trivial things, breaking up over more than half of them, only to get back together a day or two later. It had been exhausting.

Besides, he had Renjun now, even though nobody knew about that.

“Where’s Renjun?” Seungmin asked, making Jisung’s head snap in his direction at the mention of his secret boyfriend’s name, startling out of his thoughts. “What?” he asked. “Renjun... where is he?” Seungmin repeated his question. Jisung breathed a sigh of relief.

Granted, Seungmin finding out about their secret relationship wouldn’t be the worst thing, but he would most definitely tell Hyunjin and then there’d be two people who knew about them. The more people knew the easier it was for the secret to come out. He remembered how fast the news of his friend Mina’s pregnancy had spread last year. He shuddered.

“He didn’t feel like coming to class today”, Jisung finally replied. He figured that he should let Renjun know about Jeno’s flirting attempts. The last thing he needed was to get into a fight with his boyfriend over something as minor as this. But he figured that could only be avoided by being honest.

~

Potions class had been a drag, but he met up with Renjun before his next class, which significantly brightened his day. “Hey babe, did you rest up enough?” he questioned, half-jokingly. Renjun grinned and hooked his arm through Jisung’s, a gesture that seemed friendly to the unknowing eye.

“I did...” “What is it with you and those midnight walks?” Jisung asked chuckling. Renjun looked at him, his grin still wide on his face. “I will tell you about it soon”, he promised. “How mysterious”, the younger commented. Jeno passed them, waving at Jisung with a bright smile.

“Right...there’s something I have to tell you about...”, the younger Ravenclaw spoke up, following the Gryffindor with his eyes until he was sure he was out of earshot. Renjun raised a questioning eyebrow. “You know how Jeno flirted with me at the Halloween party?” “Sure, if you can call off-handed riding comments flirting...”, Renjun replied with a slight hint of bitterness in his voice along with a small pout, that made Jisung want to squish his cheeks and give him a kiss. He managed to resist the urge, though.

“Yeah, he kinda wants to get back together with me. At least, I think he does. He’s been flirting with me and he keeps asking if I’m seeing anyone”, Jisung admitted, checking his boyfriend’s face for reactions. “Well, get rid of him”, was all the older Ravenclaw said.

“I’m trying, babe. But it’s kind of hard to properly turn someone down without breaking their heart. I mean, he’s still kind of a friend”, Jisung told him. Renjun hummed in slight dismay. “Okay, fine. But you better keep turning him down. If he doesn’t leave you alone soon, I’ll break something other than his heart”, he warned.

Jisung laughed. He didn’t doubt Renjun in the slightest, but he still couldn’t help but find the threat endearing. “You’re cute when you’re mad”, he said, quietly enough for only Renjun to hear, as they entered the classroom. The older blushed but didn’t reply and instead just wordlessly dragged Jisung to their seats.

~

“Jisungie...”, Renjun spoke up that same evening after dinner when they were – once again – the only ones in the sixth-year Ravenclaw dorm. They were cuddling on Jisung’s bed, curtains drawn, of course. Renjun’s head was resting in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck, Jisung’s right arm slung around his slim frame and their hands intertwined on Renjun’s belly.

“Hm?” Jisung’s response came out as a sleepy grunt. “There isn’t anything I should be worried about, right?” Renjun questioned. Jisung furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?” he asked. Renjun exhaled, not sure if he should bring the topic up again, but he had already started, so there was no use in beating around the bush.

“With Jeno. I know how charming he can be, or whatever...”, he trailed off, recalling his own history with Lee Jeno. Jisung squeezed his hand a little bit. “I assure you that I will never start anything with him again. He’s a friend and that’s it. Besides, who’s a better match for me than you?”

Renjun smiled a little bit at the answer. He trusted Jisung, it was Jeno he didn’t trust. His eye smile could land him a lot of things, which is why he was so popular among guys and girls alike. On top of that, he was a Quidditch player. And a good one at that. Just like all of Jisung’s exes as he realized.

He knew he shouldn’t let his mind go there, but now that he had dipped a toe into the insecurity pool, it was hard to come back out.

~

“Jisung, wait up”, Jeno called out to him on his way down to Care of Magical Creatures. Jisung waited for him, not wanting to seem rude. “Man, I’m really not up to heading into the forest today”, Jeno said casually. Jisung was almost relieved that he didn’t start off with some kind of pick-up line.

“Yeah, who knows what kind of horrible creature we have to deal with today”, he agreed. He didn’t even know why he’d kept Care of Magical Creatures. “I hope it’s nothing too bad...”, Jeno said. He grinned brightly at Jisung. “So, how’s the whole Quidditch captain going?” he questioned.

Jisung couldn’t help but smirk. “Pretty good, considering how we beat you last time”, he said cockily, making Jeno laugh. “That was one time”, he argued. They continued bickering the rest of the way, and Jisung found himself actually kind of enjoying Jeno’s company. It was so much easier to be around him when he didn’t try to flirt with him.

Unfortunately, though, Jeno’s demeanor didn’t last. After class, he accompanied Jisung back to the castle for lunch. “By the way, have you thought about it?” The younger furrowed his brows in a questioning manner. “About us. You don’t have to play hard to get with me”, Jeno explained.

Jisung stopped walking and looked at him. “I told you I like someone else, Jeno”, he said, almost sternly. Jeno pouted, though it didn’t seem like a real one. “At least go out with me once. Whoever it is you like, I’m sure you’ll reconsider once I take you out. We used to have so much fun on our dates...”, he tried to reason.

Renjun walked up to them, from the direction of the big staircase. He raised his eyebrows at them but said nothing. “Sorry, Jeno. I don’t think so...”, he declined. Renjun had reached them by now. “Hey”, he greeted them. “Hey, Junnie... can you please tell Jisung that we look amazing together”, Jeno said playfully wrapping an arm around the younger’s waist. Jisung slapped at his chest half-assedly and wiggled out of Jeno’s grip.

“Stop that. I’m not going out with you”, he said, before looking at Renjun. The oldest seemed less amused by the whole scenario than Jisung. “We were going to have lunch together, so...”, Jisung trailed off, addressing Jeno. “Sure, see you around”, Jeno said and went in, heading for the Gryffindor table.

“I kind of lost my appetite”, Renjun said turned on his heel, walking away. Jisung needed a second or two to even process the turn of events before he hurried to catch up with his boyfriend. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Are you getting sick?”

Renjun shook him off when he tried to place a hand on his forehead and just continued walking with a stoic expression. It didn’t suit him at all to be this serious and it kind of worried Jisung. “Can you please talk to me?” Jisung asked after a while. They had reached the common room by now.

“I don’t think I’m going to class this afternoon”, Renjun said, not looking at Jisung. The younger reached out to grab his hand. “That isn’t what I meant. What’s wrong?” he asked again. Renjun freed himself from his grip again. “Nothing, I’ll just rest up a little...”, he said, storming up the stairs and to their dorm.

Jisung contemplated going after him, but he figured that his boyfriend wanted to be alone right now. He’d already figured that it might have had something to do with that whole Jeno thing just now, but he had already told Renjun that he didn’t have any feelings for him. He didn’t think he could do more than that.

~

Renjun felt like an idiot. He should have told Jisung what was really bothering him, instead of whatever he had pulled just now. But he couldn’t help it.  _Can you please tell Jisung that we look amazing together?_ As much as he hated it, Jeno hadn’t been too wrong about it. They had a history and they really didn’t look too bad together.

He mentally slapped himself for the ridiculous thought. His insecurities were getting the better of him. But how could they not. The constant thoughts of  _‘What if he likes Quidditch players more than scrawny idiots?’_ Besides, people had been pretty supportive of their relationship back then, so he figured the gossip would be mainly positive and Jisung would be less scared of what they had to say.

He didn’t mind hiding his relationship with Jisung in the slightest, but what if the younger ever grew tired of having to hide and then he would go for someone he knew people shipped him with? Jisung didn’t seem too concerned about being seen with Jeno in public. What if he still had feelings for him?

With a frustrated groan he let himself fall back into the pillows. The only way to get this out of the way once and for all was to talk to Jisung, if he didn’t want to lose him...

~

Jisung hung out with Seungmin and Hyunjin for a bit after class and by the time they came back to the Ravenclaw dorm, Renjun was already asleep. Maybe he really was a little sick. He thought back to the older’s behavior this afternoon. He wanted to talk to him about it but figured that it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Needless to say, Jisung didn’t end up sleeping very well that night. He kept thinking of ways to convince Renjun that he wasn’t going to start anything with Jeno. At the same time, he tried to figure out how to get his point across Jeno. He wasn’t interested, how was that so hard to understand? It frustrated him that he couldn’t talk about this to anyone.

Before he knew it, the sun was rising, and he scrambled out of bed to get ready for the day. To his surprise, Renjun woke up just as he’d gathered all his washroom stuff. Then again, he had gone to sleep early the previous evening, so it made sense for him to be up this early.

“Hey...”, Renjun croaked out, also climbing out of bed. “Hi...”, Jisung said. He waited for his boyfriend to also gather his stuff before they made their way to the washrooms together. “So, about yesterday...”, Renjun started, causing Jisung to perk up. He didn’t think Renjun would be the one to bring it up.

“I’m sorry, I got so bitchy...”, the older Ravenclaw said. Jisung waved off. “It’s okay. We all have bad days”, he replied. Renjun smiled a little but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. They quickly got ready in the bathroom and got dressed before heading to breakfast. Renjun looked like he wanted to say something, so Jisung asked him about it.

“What’s wrong?” Renjun almost jumped at suddenly getting addressed and he really didn’t seem to want to talk about it. He opened his mouth to answer anyway: “It’s about Jeno...”, he trailed off. “The reason I was so bitchy yesterday was because...he seems really into you.”

Jisung’s lips stretched into a line. “I already told you that I won’t get back together with him”, he said and Renjun sighed. “I know, but he doesn’t seem to want to understand that.” Jisung couldn’t help but get a little defensive. “I have it under control, Renjun. I’m glad that Jeno and I can be something like friends again and I really don’t want to ruin that.”

Renjun stopped in his tracks and whirled around to completely face him. His face looked a little angry. “You know just as well as I do that he wants to be more than friends with you!” he exclaimed. He ran a hand through his slowly growing out blonde hair – which still looked hot, but now was not the right time to get distracted – and then crossed his arms over his chest.

“Okay, I admit that he’s a little flirty-” Renjun cut him off, his voice sounding exasperated: “A little? Eric is  _a little_  flirty. Hyunjin is  _a little_  flirty. I wouldn’t mind a little and I trust you with the both of them-” “But you don’t trust me with Jeno?” Jisung asked, also cutting his boyfriend off mid-sentence. “Do you really think I’d start anything with him again, especially after I told you I wouldn't?” He was exasperated by the silent accusation.

“That’s not what I’m saying”, Renjun said, though albeit less angry than before. “That’s what it sounded like!” Jisung shot back. A silence followed, before Renjun walked away without further words. Jisung huffed, not really feeling hungry anymore, but still heading to the Great Hall.

He bumped into Seungmin at the entrance. The younger must have caught his sour expression. “What’s going on?” he questioned. “Renjun and I had a fight-”, he started, but quickly cut himself off before revealing too much. “You know what, never mind. It’s no big deal”, he said, taking off before Seungmin could question him.

It was a big deal, though. It was the first fight he’d ever had with Renjun, their first fight as a couple and it was about something like  _this_. What if they couldn’t recover from that? Was this already it? Jisung shook the thought out of his head. He wasn’t just going to give up after one fight. He liked Renjun too much.

But how was he going to fix this?

~

Renjun avoided Jisung all day after their fight. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, considering they shared most of their classes, but he didn’t know how to approach him. He hadn’t meant to make Jisung sound untrustworthy, because he knew that Jisung wouldn’t cheat on him. It wasn’t cheating he was scared of. It was Jisung realizing that he liked Jeno more – or an equally as athletically talented guy or girl – and leaving him to be with them instead.

At lunch, he sat alone. His gaze fell onto Jeno, who was over at the Gryffindor table talking to Felix and a few other of his teammates. Renjun didn’t notice that he was picking around in his food while glaring until a voice ripped him from his thoughts.

“What’s got you glaring?” It was Hyunjin, who had plopped into the seat next to his. The Slytherin was following his gaze. “Nothing...”, Renjun answered bitterly, but to no avail. Hyunjin raised his eyebrow and stole one of his fries. “Bullshit. You’re looking at Jeno”, he pointed out.

Renjun scoffed. Suddenly, Hyunjin gasped. “Oh my god! Is he that mysterious crush? Again?” Renjun downright snorted at that one. “Hell no.” Hyunjin chuckled. “Aw, you did look good together, though. If it’s not him then who is it? You never told me. Is it really not Jeno?”

Renjun would later blame it on being upset and pissed off because of Jeno trying to steal his secret boyfriend, but he glared at Hyunjin and snapped at him: “Can you fuck off, Hyunjin? I’m not fucking interested in Jeno and I’m really not in the mood for your bullshit right now!”

Hyunjin’s face fell at his best friend’s tone and Renjun immediately felt bad. The Slytherin had done nothing wrong and he shouldn’t take his bad mood out on him. “Damn, okay... I’ll leave you alone”, he said and got up. “No wait...”, Renjun called out to him, but Hyunjin was already walking away.

Great, now he had pissed off his boyfriend and his best friend, all within the span of six hours.

~

Seungmin immediately noticed his boyfriend’s pouty expression when they met up at the library. He cupped his cheeks and looked at him. “What’s wrong, honey?” he questioned. “Renjun’s in a bad mood and he snapped at me...”, Hyunjin replied, still pouting.

For some reason, Seungmin didn’t look surprised. He let go of Hyunjin’s cheeks and took his hand instead, as they sat down at one of the library tables. “Jisung mentioned that he and Renjun had a fight...”, he said. Hyunjin gave him a surprised look. “They did? What were they fighting about?”

Seungmin shrugged. “Jisung wouldn’t tell me. But he seemed really upset. They’ve been spending lots of time together lately...”, he pointed out. “Yeah...I guess that explains Renjun’s bad mood...” “I really wonder what they could have possibly fought about...”, Seungmin mumbled, more to himself than to Hyunjin.

“Whatever it is, they need to make up. Soon.”

~

Jisung had seriously contemplated skipping class for the rest of the day, but he decided against it. He hadn’t failed to notice the fact that Renjun was avoiding him and he figured it was best to let the older cool off for a while even though he really wanted to talk to him.

He knew that he should probably avoid Jeno as well, considering that he was kind of the reason Renjun was even mad at him. But Jisung just didn’t have it in him to tell his friend to go sit somewhere else during lunch, when the Gryffindor sat down next to him.

“What’s up with you?” Jeno questioned, clearly catching on to Jisung’s dampened mood. “Nothing. I just didn’t have the best day so far...”, he replied. Jeno gave him a sympathetic look.

“Listen, Jeno, there’s something-” Before Jisung could finish his sentence Felix showed up out of nowhere. “Hey, Jeno. I’m supposed to tell you that there’s practice in two hours”, he said, acknowledging Jisung with a grin.

“Alright, thanks Felix”, Jeno replied with a bright smile. Felix gave him a thumbs up and then wagged his eyebrows at Jisung before taking off. Did Felix think him hanging out with Jeno would result in them getting back together?

“I have to go...”, Jisung said, getting up. He felt the sudden urge to seek out Renjun and make up with him. He didn’t want Jeno. He only wanted Renjun. Unfortunately, though Jeno followed him out of the Great Hall. “Wait, I figured we could go down to the field together and hang out before I have to practice...”, he said.

Jisung stopped in his tracks and faced Jeno. “Okay, look, Jeno. I like hanging out with you-” “Great, I like hanging out with you, too”, Jeno said with a giddy smile that made Jisung almost sorry for turning him down. “That’s-” “I know it was probably weird for you to talk to me again, after everything... but I’m glad you did. You know I still like you, right?” Jeno cut him off again.

Jisung remained silent. He had feared that Jeno would say something like that, making this harder than it already was. He didn’t have romantic feelings for Jeno, but he also didn’t want to break his heart and ruin their friendship. Jeno seemed to take his silence as a good thing, though, and leaned closer.

Jisung reacted just in time by turning his head away, so Jeno’s lips landed on his cheek instead. Jisung saw Renjun coming down the big staircase, stopping in his tracks when he saw his boyfriend with Jeno. Jisung pushed Jeno off, realizing how wrong this must have looked.

“Ren-” He didn’t get much further, as Renjun already stormed off towards the main entrance. Jisung wanted to go after him, not even caring if anyone caught on that they were more than friends, but Jeno blocked his path. Jisung let out a sigh and looked up at the Gryffindor.

“I don’t have feelings for you, Jeno. And I won’t ever have them again. I’m sorry, but this needs to stop. I want to be your friend, but not if you can’t accept no for an answer...”, Jisung told him. “Now, I really have to go...”, he said and stormed past a speechless Jeno to go after Renjun. It didn’t matter if Jeno figured out that the guy Jisung liked was Renjun. He just wanted to find the older and explain the situation.

He looked around in the courtyard. Some students were outside chatting or playing Gobstone, but there was no trace of Renjun anywhere. This castle was too big to possibly figure out where he’d run off to, but Jisung didn’t care. He ran around half the castle, checking the best hiding spots he could think of, but Renjun was nowhere to be found. It had already gotten dark by the time he decided to stop looking.

With a defeated sigh, Jisung headed back to the Ravenclaw common room, hoping that Renjun might be there.

~

“Have you seen Renjun?” Jisung greeted Seungmin about two hours later when the younger came back to the dorms. Seungmin shook his head. “No, I haven’t. Have you two still not made up?” he questioned. “I wanted to apologize to him, but I can’t find him anywhere.”

Seungmin sat down next to him on his bed. “Was it a really bad fight?” he asked. Jisung shrugged. “It was more of a misunderstanding, I guess”, he replied. He had overreacted. Renjun had just been worried that he and Jeno might start something again – which was still ridiculous – but after today, the older must feel confirmed.

“I’ll go wait downstairs”, Jisung said and rose from his bed. “Do you want me to come with you?” Seungmin questioned. Jisung gave him a little smile and shook his head before heading out and down the stairs. The common room was almost empty, so he sat down in one of the blue armchairs by the fireplace and brought his knees to his chest.

~

Curfew came and went and Renjun still wasn’t back. Jisung was beginning to grow worried. He knew that Renjun sometimes stayed out at night to take his mysterious late-night walks, but it was still unsettling, especially after that incident earlier in the entrance hall. Besides, what if something had happened to him?

At this point, Jisung was about ready to go and look for him, even though he didn’t even know where he would start. Luckily, he didn’t have to go anywhere, because just as he’d gotten up, determined to search the entire castle, Renjun walked through the entrance of the common room.

Jisung let out a sigh of relief muttering an “oh, thank Merlin...” and practically tackled his boyfriend in a hug. Renjun made a surprised noise but returned the hug. “I’m sorry for everything! I was an idiot and I shouldn’t have let Jeno get the wrong idea. That thing you saw earlier was a huge misunderstanding”, he immediately babbled. He pulled back to look at Renjun, finding his eyes slightly puffy and reddened. He wanted to slap himself for being the cause of Renjun’s tears.

“I’m really sorry... I never would have let him kiss me for real. I only like  _you_  and I was so worried when I couldn’t find you after you saw that...”, Jisung continued. Renjun didn’t say anything for a few seconds, making Jisung worry that the older wouldn’t accept his apology. Eventually, he spoke up, though.

“You’re not the only one who needs to apologize. I was being bitchy and insecure. Given your past relationship with Jeno I figured that there might still be some spark between you two and I let it get to me...”, he said. Jisung wanted to assure him that that wasn’t anything he needed to worry about, but Renjun already continued speaking: “Also... I realized that all your exes are Quidditch players, so I thought that you might come to realize that Jeno suits you better than I do...”

The younger couldn’t deny that he was shocked to hear that because he had never really paid attention to the fact that he’d only dated Quidditch players before. It hadn’t once occurred to him that Renjun wouldn’t fit his “type” because of that.

“That doesn’t matter to me. The fact that my exes all played Quidditch is a coincidence...” He reached out to take both of Renjun’s hands in his. “I actually think it’s kind of cute that you’re not good at flying”, he added with a small smile. “But seriously, that whole thing with Jeno got out of hand. But I can tell you for sure that only want to be with you... if you’ll still have me that is...”

Renjun answered by pulling him into a hug. “Of course...”, he answered. Jisung wrapped his arms around the older’s waist, feeling relieved. He didn’t know what he would have done if Renjun hadn’t believed him or worse, broken up with him. He wanted this relationship to work more than anything.

He buried his face in the crook of Renjun’s neck, noticing the way he faintly smelled of rain and the woods. He decided not to question his whereabouts and just bask in his warmth...

~

The next day, Renjun sought out Hyunjin first thing in the morning, apologizing to his best friend for snapping at him. The Slytherin was quick to forgive him and settled things with a hug.

Jeno decided to keep his distance from Jisung again, which was probably for the best, however, Jisung couldn’t help but feel a little sad about the fact that they couldn’t just be friends. He decided to be optimistic, though and just give it some time.

~

Jisung was fast asleep one night when soft shakes at his shoulder caused him to stir awake. It was Renjun, regarding him with a grin. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in his bed.

“What’s up, babe?” he questioned sleepily. “Go out with me”, Renjun said excitedly. They were both whispering, but Jisung looked around to make sure none of their dormmates could hear them. “Um, I’m pretty sure I already am...”, Jisung pointed out, but Renjun just shook his head and tugged on his arm. “I meant outside.”

Jisung was confused, but gave in nonetheless, crawling out of his bed and putting on some warmer clothes before following his boyfriend out of the dorms, through the common room and ultimately outside. The November air was cold, and it helped waking Jisung up significantly. He wondered where Renjun was taking him, but the older wouldn’t say a word.

Eventually, though, they reached the black lake and Renjun was facing him. “What’s going on, what are we doing out here?” Jisung asked. “Well, usually, I take my walks a little closer to the woods, but for tonight, I figured that this would do”, Renjun told him.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you... and since you’ve been asking about my walks, I guess I could just... show you”, the older said. Jisung gave him a questioning look. Had his boyfriend always been this mysterious? “Um, okay...go ahead”, he said.

Renjun grinned. “Close your eyes.” Jisung was still confused, but complied, nonetheless. Nothing happened and Jisung couldn’t help but think that Renjun was pranking him somehow. “Babe? Are you planning to scare me? Because it’s working...”, he muttered, half expecting Renjun to giggle.

He jumped at the feeling of something soft brushing against his hand and his eyes shot open. “Ren-” He cut himself off when he wasn’t met with Renjun but... a dog. His boyfriend was nowhere in sight. He furrowed his brows. He had seen this dog before. It was the wolf dog he had encountered at the end of last year right at this lake.

“Oh my god, it’s you, isn’t it...”, he said once it had dawned on him. The dog looked up at him, the moon illuminating his face. He noticed the purple shimmer in his eyes that he’d seen in Renjun’s a few times before. “You’re an Animagus”, Jisung stated. Before he knew it, Renjun was standing in front of him again, looking at him sheepishly.

“Are you mad?” he questioned. Jisung still had a hard time processing that his boyfriend had just transformed into a dog and back. “U-um...I don’t think so? No, I’m just really surprised. Why didn’t you say anything?” he questioned. Renjun shrugged and sat down at the shore. Jisung followed suit.

“It’s a secret. I’m not registered, you know...”, he explained. “Wait, so you just... did it by yourself?” Jisung asked, still beyond baffled. Renjun nodded. “I read about it in class and then I thought, this sounds pretty cool and I just kinda did it. It’s great for sneaking out”, he said.

“Wow...that’s...” “Weird? Overwhelming?” “No, it’s pretty cool. And you’re just about the most beautiful dog I’ve ever seen”, he told his boyfriend with a grin. Renjun chuckled and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss on the lips. Now everything made sense to Jisung. The midnight walks and how his boyfriend usually smelled like the woods.

“Thanks for telling me”, Jisung said, reaching for his hand and lacing their fingers together. Renjun smiled. “I trust you”, he replied. “You’re the only one who knows so far...”, he added. Jisung rested his head on his shoulder. “I’m honored...”

They sat in silence for a while, just watching the water like they had last year during the camping trip. Somehow lakes and bathrooms seemed to be their thing. The thought made him chuckle. “What’s so funny?” Renjun asked. Jisung looked at him. “Nothing, I just feel like there’s always been this connection between us and it took me so long to notice it...”, he explained.

Renjun laughed. “Yeah, you were pretty dense.” Jisung playfully slapped his thigh. “But I think you’re right. Like, how you got a tattoo of a paw...and I’m a dog. It’s almost like fate”, Renjun added, seeming more thoughtful. Jisung looked at his arm, rolling up the sleeve.

“Right...”, he mumbled. Renjun traced it again. “I want to try something”, he said and before Jisung could question him, his boyfriend was turning back into a dog. His paw rested on Jisung’s arm where his hand had traced the tattoo. It seemed to be about the same size as the inked paw on his forearm. Like Renjun had left a paw print there.

“That’s...”, he trailed off. He had gotten the tattoo before he and Renjun had started dating; way before he had even realized that he liked him. “Next level weird”, now-human Renjun finished his sentence. Jisung nodded. “But good weird, right? You don’t feel like you’ve got a pet instead of a boyfriend now, right?”

Renjun seemed uncertain. Like he was scared of what Jisung might think of him now. The younger felt the need to reassure him and laced their fingers together again. “Of course, not. You’re still the same as before...” “So, you’re really okay with this?” Jisung nodded. “I’m really okay with this”, he confirmed.

Renjun gave him another kiss. Then he got up and pulled Jisung to his feet with him. “We should get back. It’s kind of cold out here”, he stated. “Yeah, it is”, he agreed, as they took off, making their way back to the castle. “Hey, what kind of animal do you think I would be?” he suddenly asked.

Renjun looked at him, seemingly thinking. He broke out into giggles. “A squirrel”, he said. Jisung fake pouted at him. “You’re mean”, he complained. Renjun cooed and kissed his cheek. “It’s not my fault you’re so cute”, he stated matter-of-factly. Jisung grumbled something incoherent.

“Okay, maybe you’d be like a lion or a tiger. Better?” Renjun questioned, still giggling. Jisung shook his head, laughing. “As long as I don’t end up as a mouse or a cockroach”, he replied, causing Renjun to laugh as well. “Aw, but you’d make the cutest little mouse”, he joked.

It was a miracle that nobody heard the two giggling and bickering Ravenclaws on their way back to their dorm, but they remained unnoticed the whole way. Jisung also refused to let go of Renjun’s hand until they were right in front of the sixth-year dorm. “I’m really happy you told me”, he once again assured Renjun, who just smiled at him and pulled him into a hug.

“I’m glad you took it so well...” Jisung returned the hug, just holding his boyfriend close for a little while.

“Now, we should really head to bed it’s the middle of the night”, Renjun stated. Jisung reluctantly unwrapped his arms from Renjun’s waist and followed him inside. He would’ve given a lot to cuddle the older all night, but he was definitely not up for Seungmin’s questions if he found the two of them in the same bed.

He settled for the good night kiss Renjun gave him when he made sure that nobody was awake and ended up falling asleep with a smile on his face, nonetheless.


	8. I am [unwelcome here]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, we're back (admittedly a week later than planned but what can I say). Today, we have a Seungjin for y'all because we missed them a lot and this was really fun to write! 
> 
> I'm gonna give you a small warning for domestic issues (you'll see) because in this one we're gonna meet Hyunjin's mother! 
> 
> I hope you're gonna like it!

 

“I was thinking...”, Hyunjin trailed off one afternoon, while he and Seungmin spent some time in the empty Slytherin dorm. The younger looked up from his book, raising an eyebrow. “Should I be concerned?” he teased. Hyunjin pouted a little, causing Seungmin to chuckle and motion for him to go on.

“Alright, so... you know how that long weekend is coming up?” he started, causing Seungmin to nod, his curiosity piqued. “Well, Changbin’s taking Felix to his place and I figured, you know, you and I could do the same. You could finally meet my mom...” Hyunjin worded the suggestion carefully, since he couldn’t help but be the slightest bit scared of Seungmin’s reaction. His mother wasn’t really the kindest person out there, especially when it came to muggles and muggleborn people, but Hyunjin believed that if she met Seungmin she would like him.

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” the Ravenclaw asked cautiously. “I mean, you told me that she’s not very fond of muggles and all that...”, he trailed off. Hyunjin gave him a small smile and took his hand. “I know. She can be pretty harsh sometimes, but that’s mainly because of my father. I’m sure she’ll love you”, he assured the younger. Seungmin thought about it for a few moments.

“Okay...I’ll meet your mother”, he finally agreed, earning himself an excited hug and a peck on the cheek. “Thank you...wait, are you sure, though? I mean, if you really don’t want to or think it’s too early or anything-” Seungmin effectively shut Hyunjin up by pressing their lips together. “I’m sure”, he assured his boyfriend.

Hyunjin hugged him again. It meant a lot to him that Seungmin had agreed. All he wanted was for the people he loved to get along and he just hoped that his mother would behave. She wouldn’t be blatantly rude to the person he loved, would she? Granted, the fact that Seungmin was muggleborn might throw her off, but surely, she would take his personality into consideration before judging him, right? She wasn’t a monster after all.

Hyunjin shook the thoughts about his mother out of his head and focused on cuddling his boyfriend some more. “I’d love to visit Woojin and Mina...”, he changed subjects. “Me too! I really want to see their cute baby”, Seungmin agreed giddily.

“I wonder when exactly they’ll get married. And I want to ask Woojin all about the proposal!” Hyunjin muttered the last part. Seungmin looked at him, raising his eyebrows. “Are you trying to get inspired for the future?” he teased. Hyunjin grinned at him. “Maybe...” Seungmin must have expected him to get flustered, but now he was the one blushing at the implication.

~

Before Seungmin knew it, he found himself on Hyunjin’s doorstep. To say he was nervous about meeting Hyunjin’s mother was an understatement. Hyunjin had told him about the way she treated him sometimes, and he also hadn’t forgotten about last year, when a letter from Mrs Hwang had caused Hyunjin to break up with him. Nevertheless, he had promised Hyunjin to meet her, because he knew that it was important for him, so he tried not to show how nervous he really was.

Seungmin couldn’t help but remember Chan first meeting Minho’s parents. He had only heard the stories they had told afterwards, but it was enough to intimidate him. He knew that Hyunjin’s mother ran in the same circles as Minho’s parents, so what if she also wasn’t even going to give him a chance to prove that he was the best fit for Hyunjin?

“You nervous?” Hyunjin asked him, putting a reassuring arm on his shoulder. Seungmin looked at him, trying to give him a smile that didn’t look forced. How would Hyunjin feel if he knew that he didn’t actually want to meet his mother? What if he still valued his mother’s opinion enough to end things with him again? “Only a little bit”, he finally lied. Hyunjin took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“It’s going to be alright. I told my mother that we were coming, and she told me she’s looking forward to meeting you!” the older assured him. Seungmin was a little surprised to hear that. She was looking forward to meeting him? Maybe he’d stressed himself out way too much over this and he’d just painted a false picture of Hyunjin’s mom in his head. If he made a good first impression on her, maybe she’d end up accepting him – maybe even liking him.

Hyunjin let go of his hand again to unlock the front door and lead them inside. “She’s still at the ministry. She’s the type of person to volunteer for extra work during the holidays...”, Hyunjin explained as Seungmin looked around in the empty house. The interior was rather fancy and just the slightest bit impersonal. He could definitely see that Hyunjin’s mom earned good money. “I’ll just take the bags upstairs and then I could give you a tour if you want”, Hyunjin offered. Seungmin smiled at him and nodded, his eyes still scanning his surroundings curiously.

He waited as Hyunjin took the bags up to where Seungmin assumed his room was. When he came back, the Slytherin led his boyfriend into the living room where two black leather couches stood across from each other with a coffee table in the middle and an armchair – also made from leather – next to the fireplace. On the mantel Seungmin spotted a few framed pictures that moved around in their frames. Most of them showed Hyunjin as a kid.

“Aw, look at you, you were so cute”, Seungmin pointed out, a wide grin spreading on his face. The sight of his boyfriend’s child photos made his nervousness temporarily disappear. Hyunjin already had that gorgeous smile of his when he was just a little kid. “I really wasn’t”, Hyunjin argued with a fond chuckle, looking at the pictures. “Yeah, you were look at those squishy little cheeks”, the younger cooed.

“Says you”, Hyunjin replied, turning to Seungmin and squishing his boyfriend’s cheeks. The younger giggled and tried to pry Hyunjin’s hands off his face by grabbing his wrists. Hyunjin bit his lower lip, before closing the distance between them, pressing a kiss onto Seungmin’s lips, his hands still resting on his cheeks, relishing in the way his boyfriend melted into the kiss. He gently pushed at Seungmin’s shoulders, moving them across the room until the back of the Ravenclaw’s knees hit the couch.

Seungmin plopped onto the couch, barely able to catch his breath before Hyunjin straddled his hips and found his lips again. Hyunjin’s hands tangled in Seungmin’s hair, slightly pulling it in the process, earning himself a quiet groan. “What about the tour?” Seungmin muttered against the older’s lips, his fingertips wandering under Hyunjin’s shirt just the slightest bit. “We still have time for that”, the Slytherin replied, kissing his boyfriend once more, his fingertips moving on to fumble with Seungmin’s tie.

They didn’t hear the front door opening or the middle-aged woman stepping into the living room until she cleared her throat and the two of them practically jumped apart. “Mom!” Hyunjin exclaimed in mild surprise, as he scrambled off his boyfriend’s lap. He had completely forgotten that they were in the middle of his living room. “I didn’t expect you to be home this early”, he continued.

“Clearly”, Mrs Hwang said, sounding bemused. She looked from Hyunjin to Seungmin with a displeased expression on her face that made the Ravenclaw want to sink back into the couch and disappear. So much for making a good first impression, he thought as he fixed his tie shamefully. Hyunjin took his hand and pulled him up to his feet along with him.

“Mom, I want you to meet Seungmin”, Hyunjin introduced his boyfriend to her. Seungmin didn’t know whether he should offer her his hand for a handshake or not, but the older was still holding his hand, so he just ended up awkwardly standing there, mumbling a barely audible “nice to meet you, Mrs Hwang.” He tried his hardest not to shrink under her piercing gaze.

“It seems you’ve already made yourself at home. Has Hyunjin showed you around yet?” she questioned. “We haven’t gotten around to that yet”, the Slytherin replied. “I see. Well, then do that now while I have the chef make you something to eat...”, she instructed them before taking off without sparing Seungmin so much as another glance.

Some of the tension eased out of the Ravenclaw’s shoulders when Mrs Hwang left the room, but he still felt awfully embarrassed. “I’m sorry about that...”, Hyunjin apologized, facing him, their hands still clasped together. Seungmin shook his head. “No, it’s okay...I guess she doesn’t like me very much, though, huh...”

“She’s always like this with people she doesn’t know. I’m sure you’ll win her over during dinner...”, Hyunjin answered, running a soothing hand through the younger’s brown locks.

~

Once Hyunjin had showed him around the – very big – house, he led Seungmin to his room. It was clad in Slytherin colors, but it still had a warm Hyunjin touch to it. There were a few plushies on the bed and the shelves and several magically moving pictures were hanging on the wall next to his bed. Most of them showed Hyunjin with his friends, but there were some of him too.

What stood out to Seungmin the most was a rather old-looking picture. Half of the photo was burnt away, but the part he could see showed baby Hyunjin smiling up and making grabby hands at his laughing mother.

Hyunjin followed Seungmin’s gaze, his eyes landing on the picture as well. “My father was in the burnt half of the picture. I found it in a box on the attic once. He peeks in from the side from time to time...”, the Slytherin explained. Seungmin recalled Hyunjin telling him that his father had left the family on his son’s third birthday, causing his mother to throw herself into her work at the Ministry.

“I’m...”, Seungmin trailed off, not really knowing what to say, but Hyunjin just smiled at him, putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into his side. “It’s okay, my love. Let’s not turn this into my sob story about my father. I barely even remember the man anyway”, he told him with accentuated ease. Seungmin knew that he missed his father, even if he wouldn’t outright say it.

“We should wash up before dinner...”, Hyunjin said, grinning. “I’m sure she won’t walk in on us in the bathroom”, he pointed out teasingly. Seungmin swatted at his chest. “Not happening! I don’t want to give your mother any more reasons to dislike me! I really don’t want her to think that I’m tainting her angel of a son!” he complained, making his boyfriend laugh.

“Since when am I the angel in this relationship?” Hyunjin questioned, seemingly amused. Seungmin huffed playfully. “You don’t even know the half of it”, he said. The Slytherin chuckled and pressed a feather light kiss to his nose before disappearing to the bathroom.

~

The two of them washed up before joining Hyunjin’s mom in the dining room. Seungmin felt some of the tension return to his shoulders when he caught the icy stare of his boyfriend’s mother. He was really glad to have Hyunjin sitting right next to him, otherwise he probably would have died of nervousness.

“So, Seungmin...”, she started. “Hyunjin told me that you’re very studious. You’re a Ravenclaw, correct?” Seungmin nodded. “I am...I just...really enjoy studying”, he answered. “He’s been helping me with Charms and Transfigurations a lot”, Hyunjin threw in, causing Seungmin to smile at him.

“Do you also play Quidditch?” she questioned. “I’m afraid not. I usually moderate the games, though...”, he answered, awkwardly cutting his stake. “All in all, I prefer studying, though...” “It’s kind of all he did before we got together”, Hyunjin said, chuckling a little.

“Well, you must be coming from a pure line of wizards if you’re this good at school”, Mrs Hwang pointed out, actually sounding a little impressed. Seungmin tensed up again. “Mom”, Hyunjin said in a warning tone. “What? Was my question offensive in any way?” she questioned, taking a sip from her cup. “My parents are muggles, actually”, Seungmin told her. He was in no way ashamed of being muggleborn, but he was still scared to see the woman’s reaction.

Mrs Hwang’s mouth had stretched into a thin line; she wasn’t even trying to hide her dismay at the revelation. “Is that so? How odd for you to be this good at school, then” she pointed out unabashedly. “Mom, please don’t start. This isn’t the 90s. Seungmin’s blood status doesn’t matter in the slightest!” Hyunjin defended him, earning a glare from his mother. “Watch how you speak to me at the dinner table, Hyunjin”, she snapped at her son.

Seungmin felt like running out of the room, a tight feeling spreading in his chest. From the look on her face, he had clearly just ruined every chance of ever getting her approval. He had never really been treated differently because of his blood status, so this was an entirely new feeling for him. Sure, he had been aware of Mrs Hwang’s distaste in muggles, following her husband’s departure, but actually seeing her entire change of demeanor wasn’t something he could have prepared for.

The rest of the meal was quite tense and relatively quiet, to say the least. Seungmin didn’t eat very much and was glad when Hyunjin had finished, asking if they could be excused. He took the Ravenclaw’s hand and led him upstairs to his room.

“I’m really sorry for how she acted down there. I didn’t think she would be like this about it”, he immediately apologized, taking Seungmin’s other hand as well and facing him completely. The younger looked down to the floor. “It’s not your fault, Hyunjin...it’s alright”, he tried to convince himself of that just as much as his boyfriend, but neither of them really believed it.

“It’s not alright! She can’t say things like that to you! I won’t let her”, Hyunjin stated. “It’s outdated and wrong to reduce others to their blood status...” When Seungmin looked up again, he saw anger and disappointment written on his boyfriend’s face. It reminded him once again how important this whole thing had been to him. “Don’t pick a fight with your mother over me, please...”

“The least I can ask of her is for her to respect you”, Hyunjin argued, still seemingly ready to fight his mother. “Can we just go to bed? I’m kind of tired from the journey...”, Seungmin lied when in reality, he had a headache. Hyunjin’s features softened and he caressed his boyfriend’s cheek, kissing him onto the other. “Sure...”, he gave in. “But tomorrow, I’m talking to her!” Seungmin gave him a small smile, appreciating his boyfriend standing up for him like this. He just hoped that this whole thing wouldn’t cause a family feud.

They got ready for bed and cuddled up together under Hyunjin’s green satin covers. Seungmin’s head was resting on Hyunjin’s bare chest, as the older repeatedly ran his hand through his hair. It calmed him down significantly, but he still had this tight feeling in his chest.

“What’s on your mind?” Hyunjin asked, somehow knowing that his boyfriend wasn’t asleep, despite the room being almost pitch dark. “Just...”, Seungmin trailed off, thinking of the right words to say. “I’d really hoped that things would turn out okay. For you. Because I knew that this was so important to you”, he tried to explain himself.

The two of them went silent for a few seconds, the only source of sound in the room being their breathing. “It’s not your fault”, Hyunjin reassured him eventually. Seungmin knew he meant it, but he still couldn’t shake the bad feeling. He knew how much Hyunjin respected his mother. What if he respected his mother enough to let things change between them?

“I guess... but it still feels like it. I don’t want to drive a wedge between you and your mother, but I also don’t want to lose you-” “Hey, who said anything about you losing me? I’m not gonna go anywhere”, Hyunjin interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. The two of them sat up in Hyunjin’s bed, facing each other. Hyunjin flicked on a light on his bedside table.

“You seem to have given this a lot of thought”, he pointed out. Seungmin looked at his crossed legs, fidgeting with his fingers in thought. “I may or may not have lied earlier about not being nervous to meet your mother. I was terrified. I thought that maybe if she ended up not liking me, which she did, you might... break up with me”, he admitted.

Hyunjin scooted closer to him, pulling his boyfriend into a hug. “Why didn’t you say anything to me? We really could have pushed this up or cancelled it altogether. It would have been okay”, he assured the younger. Seungmin felt his eyes well up with tears, even though he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he had the sweetest boyfriend on earth. He clung onto him, burying his face in his shoulder.

“You were so excited about it... I just didn’t want to ruin it...”, Seungmin admitted, sniffling. Hyunjin pulled back, wiping the tears from his boyfriend’s face. “Don’t cry, baby...” “I don’t even know why I’m crying...”, Seungmin said, half-sob, half chuckle. “You didn’t ruin a thing, okay? I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me about stuff like this”, Hyunjin said softly, causing the younger to nod.

“I do want our families to get along, because I intend of being with you for a very long time...but if my mother is going to be a thorn in our eye, I’ll just have to get along with your family, at least”, the Slytherin continued, effectively bringing a smile to his boyfriend’s face. “They’d love you...”, he said, sniffling once more. “Maybe we could go to LA for Christmas?” he suggested.

Hyunjin smiled brightly at the suggestion. “Now that sounds like a plan”, he answered. He pecked his boyfriend’s lips, looking into his eyes. “Are you going to be okay?” Seungmin nodded, wrapping his arms around the older’s neck to pull him into another hug. “I love you, you know that?” he muttered into the crook of Hyunjin’s neck. He felt his boyfriend’s arm circle around his waist. “I love you, too”, he said and shifted, lying back down without breaking the hug, so that Seungmin was fully on top of him now.

“Let’s go back to sleep, shall we?” Hyunjin mumbled, sounding sleepy. Seungmin got a little more comfortable on his human pillow, practically shifting back into his original position with his head resting on Hyunjin’s chest. He made a noise of acknowledgment, as his boyfriend reached out to turn of the nightlights again. The last thing he felt before falling asleep was Hyunjin pressing a kiss to the crown of his head, causing him to drift off to sleep with a smile.

~

The next morning, Seungmin woke up first. He admired his boyfriend’s sleeping face with a fond smile. He’d gotten way too used to waking up next to Hyunjin, but he really couldn’t complain. He deemed it a miracle that the older hadn’t discovered his tattoo yet with how much time they’d spent in bed together. Then again, they were always fully clothed – well, Seungmin was; Hyunjin liked to sleep without a shirt on.

So far, he had been too scared to show Hyunjin his ink, not sure how he would react. He figured that he probably couldn’t hide it from him forever, though, especially if they ever decided to take the next step in their relationship. He blushed at the thought, chasing it from his mind the next second.

Hyunjin stirred awake, his eyes landing on Seungmin, regarding him with tired eyes and he stretched out his limbs like a cat. “Morning, love”, he smiled, his voice still sounding husky. Seungmin returned the smile, always fond of his boyfriend’s morning voice, and, of course, the pet name. “Morning”, he replied. Hyunjin looked over at the alarm clock on his nightstand. It was 9am.

“Breakfast will probably be ready soon...are you gonna be okay?” he asked, earning a nod from Seungmin. He decided not to be scared of Hyunjin’s mother anymore. He decided he would try to win her over! Maybe she could still see more in him than “just” a muggleborn.

They got out of bed and picked out some clothes for the day. Seungmin decided to use his newfound bravery to tell Hyunjin about his little secret. “I...kind of have to show you something...”, he said, turning to face his boyfriend, putting his clothes aside to pick up later. Hyunjin did the same, giving him his undivided attention.

“Okay, so...”, Seungmin trailed off, not quite knowing how to start explaining. In the end, he just opted for pulling his sleep shirt over his head. Hyunjin seemed flustered at the sudden action. “Uh...”, he began, eyes widening slightly when Seungmin, hooked his thumb into the waistband of his shorts and pulled the waistband down the slightest bit on the left side.

Hyunjin’s eyes fell onto the tattoo, a look of surprise spreading on his face. He still seemed a bit flustered at his boyfriend just deciding to go half naked in front of him, but he stepped a little closer to examine the tattoo. It was two fitting puzzle pieces, inked just below the younger’s hip bone. It wasn’t a very big tattoo, Seungmin hadn’t felt as daring as Jisung when he’d gotten it, but he still found it rather beautiful.

“What does it mean?” Hyunjin questioned, eyes still on the puzzle pieces. He seemed tempted to touch it, but given the placement of the tattoo, he refrained from it. Seungmin let go of his waistband again, partly covering the symbol. “Well, it’s about us. It basically means that you complete me...ugh, it’s kinda cheesy when I say it out loud”, he mumbled the last part, making Hyunjin chuckle. Seungmin looked at him.

“Is it weird? Do you like it?” he questioned, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. “No, I love it. It’s perfect”, Hyunjin assured him. “When did you get it? It doesn’t look recent”, he asked. Seungmin grinned at him sheepishly. “Remember when Jisung got his...?” The older’s eyes widened a little. “That was in, like June...around St. Merlin’s Day, wasn’t it?” he questioned. His boyfriend nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me back when you first got it?” Hyunjin asked, though it didn’t sound accusing, just curious. Seungmin blushed. “Well, you see...I wanted to, but then I was kind of too shy...and I didn’t want to freak you out, I guess”, he explained himself. Hyunjin stepped closer, putting his hands on Seungmin’s hips.

“Well, consider me not freaked out. I think it’s really sweet”, he told his boyfriend. “Not to mention, you picked the hottest place to get it”, he added, biting his lip. Seungmin blushed again when Hyunjin leaned in to kiss him, hands still placed firmly on his hips, pulling him closer. He had avoided going shirtless in front of Hyunjin, in fear of the older discovering the tattoo by accident, so this was a first for him.

Unfortunately, Mrs Hwang picked that exact moment to knock and burst through the door without waiting for an answer. Granted, two shirtless boys making out in the middle of the bedroom might look like more than it actually was.

“Hyunjin!” she exclaimed, sounding shocked. “Mom, we weren’t-”, Hyunjin tried to explain, but she shut up with a glare. Seungmin hurried to put his shirt back on. He couldn’t believe Mrs Hwang had caught them making out again. All his built-up confidence vanished in one go. Especially, when she continued to speak.

“Spare me, Hyunjin! First you bring a mudblood into my house and now this?! I really don’t like the person you’re becoming!” she almost yelled. Seungmin flinched at the term mudblood. He had read enough about muggle history to know that the term was outdated and just plain wrong. Hyunjin seemed to feel the same way.

“Do not call him that! You can’t look down on muggles and muggleborn people only because dad left you!” he snapped. Seungmin jumped in surprise when a loud smack sounded through the room. Mrs Hwang had slapped Hyunjin. “I told you before to watch how you talk to me in my house!” she hissed. Anger bubbled up in Seungmin’s chest. It was one thing if she didn’t like him but hitting Hyunjin was  _not_  okay; under absolutely no circumstances! Mrs Hwang turned around on her heel and stormed off.

Seungmin turned his still stunned boyfriend’s face. Hyunjin’s cheek was red, and it felt warm to his touch. The younger’s features hardened. “Come on, we’re out of here!” he said, handing Hyunjin his clothes before hurriedly slipping into his own. Hyunjin still hadn’t said a word, which worried Seungmin, but for now he was focused on getting him out of this house. He handed Hyunjin his bag and took his own, before intertwining their free hands.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mrs Hwang questioned when they came downstairs and headed for the door. “You made it pretty clear that you don’t want us here. I’m going to need some time away from you...don’t expect me home for Christmas”, Hyunjin said. He sounded shaken up, but he kept his composure. “Fine”, was all Mrs Hwang said.

~

Hyunjin kept a stoic face until they were down the street. That was when the tears came. Seungmin sat them down on a wooden bench, pulling his boyfriend into his side. He was still shocked about what had just happened. Mrs Hwang had smacked her own son in the face right in front of him.

“It’s going to be okay...”, he tried to console the older, even though he really had no idea how it could possibly be okay. What if things were going to end up like they had with Mina and Hyunjin would never speak to his mother again? Was Seungmin really worth it? He shook the thoughts away and refocused on his crying boyfriend.

“I-I shouldn’t have brought you here...”, Hyunjin cried. “She’s a horrible person...she called you  _that_.” It broke Seungmin’s heart to see the older like this. “Don’t worry about me...”, he muttered, not wanting to add to his worries. Sure, the word had stung, but he wasn’t going to make this all about himself. “I’m sorry it turned out this way...”, he added.

Hyunjin sat up straight again and looked at Seungmin. “What if she hates me?” he asked. “I don’t think she did it because she hates you. I really can’t say that I know your mother, but I think she’s just a very bitter and lonely person projecting her hatred onto other people and taking her bottled up anger out on you...”

Hyunjin let out a bitter chuckle. “That was pretty spot-on...”, he stated. Seungmin wished it wasn’t. Hyunjin deserved a loving mother. One, who wouldn’t smack him. “What do we do now?” he asked carefully. The Slytherin sniffled. “Well, Changbin doesn’t live too far from here...”, he trailed off. Seungmin nodded in understanding.

~

Changbin was rather surprised to see Seungmin and a shaken-up Hyunjin standing on his doorstep. “What happened?” he questioned, stepping aside to let them in. “I’ll tell you in a minute”, Seungmin promised. “Is it okay if we stay for a bit?” he questioned. Changbin nodded. “Of course, my parents won’t mind”, he replied, shooting a worried glance at his best friend, who was already heading in the direction of his room.

“Did something happen with his mother?” Changbin asked. Seungmin quickly filled him in on what had happened, leaving Changbin no less shocked than him. “She really said the m-word to you?” he asked and Seungmin nodded. “It took me by surprise, but I’m more worried about Hyunjin. He really wanted this to work out and now everything went to shit...”, he sighed.

Changbin patted his shoulder comfortingly. “Sometimes, Hyunjin and his mother fight. He comes here, and they’ve cooled off by the time they see each other next. It isn’t the healthiest way of fixing things, but it’s how they work...”, he explained. “This time it seems to have been worse than the other times, so just be there for him and he’ll be okay”, Changbin added.

Seungmin exhaled and nodded. “Are you sure it’s okay if we stay here?” he questioned, just to make sure. “Absolutely. Just a little warning; my parents are kind of weird. They’re out right now but, uh...they tend to pretend that they’re vampires, so if they refer to you as ‘dinner’ just don’t pay them any mind.” Seungmin furrowed his brows at the unexpected information but chose to shrug it off for now.

When they got to Changbin’s room they found Hyunjin half asleep with his head resting on Felix’ lap. The blonde looked up when Seungmin and Changbin came in. “Is he alright?” he whispered. Seungmin smiled a little, sitting down next to him and patting his boyfriend’s hair. “I’m sure he will be”, he answered.

~

Changbin’s parents turned out to be a whole lot nicer than Hyunjin’s mother. They immediately embraced Hyunjin like the son he seemed to be to them and also warmly welcomed Seungmin. Changbin’s older sister was also very nice, but she didn’t stick around long, since she apparently had an appointment.

Before, Seungmin had barely focused on his surroundings, but it was only now that he realized just how big this place was. This house was even bigger than Hyunjin’s. It had a slightly vampiric atmosphere, but he figured it made sense if Changbin’s parents were so into vampires.

During the brunch they spontaneously decided to have, Changbin’s father excitedly recounted his first meeting with Felix.

“Poor boy was so scared when I suddenly appeared in front of him with my cloak raised in front of my face and my fake accent going strong”, he said between laughs. “Changbin, you brought dinner~ you should have seen Felix’ face.” Felix pouted but laughed along with the rest of them. Changbin’s family seemed so warm and loving. Seungmin was glad that Hyunjin was treated warmly here.

“Dad, please”, Changbin whined when his father tried to start another story that would probably end up embarrassing his son. Mr Seo only laughed and patted Changbin’s shoulder. “Fine, I have to save some of my stories for dinner anyway”, he joked.

Afterwards, the four students retreated to Changbin’s room. Hyunjin already seemed to feel a lot better and Seungmin was glad to see the smile back on his face again as he joked around with Changbin and Felix.

“We were going to pay a visit to Woojin and Mina tomorrow. Felix already texted them. Do you want to come along? I’m sure they’d be happy to see you two”, Changbin asked them. Seungmin looked at his boyfriend. “I’d be up for it. I want to see the cute baby”, Hyunjin swooned and Seungmin chuckled. “Me too”, he agreed.

“Then it’s settled!” Felix exclaimed cheerfully.

~

“You alright?” Seungmin asked that same night when he and Hyunjin were getting comfortable in one of the many guest rooms. “I guess...I just don’t know what to do when I see my mom again...”, Hyunjin admitted. Seungmin was drawing invisible symbols on the older’s bare skin with his fingers, knowing that it calmed him.

“You still have some time to figure that out. Today was pretty intense...”, Seungmin said. He hadn’t been able to shake the worry for his boyfriend all day. He was the type of person to try and sort out things with his parents pretty soon after they had happened. Hyunjin’s situation was so different from his though. It hadn’t just been a tiny squabble. Seungmin hoped for his boyfriend’s sake that this was fixable.

“I’m here for you, you know...”, he muttered. He didn’t have to see Hyunjin to know that his words had made him smile. He could hear it in his next words. “I know, my love. I’m really glad I have you...” “I’m glad I have you, too”, Seungmin answered, growing sleepier.

The two of them remained silent, just basking in each other’s warmth, slowly but surely drifting off to sleep. To Seungmin it was the most relaxing and comforting thing ever. 


	9. I am [babysitting]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late I'm sorry! I can't seem to get the upload schedule right lmao...  
> Anyway, today I got our lovely minchan for you! I can't leave them out only because they graduated. They probably won't get as many one shots as the others, but I'll try to give them the attention they deserve!   
> I hope you guys will like it!

 

Ever since the birth of Kim Chanhee, Chan had been eager to spend lots of time with his goddaughter - he preferred to call her his niece, though, since it was easier and he and Woojin were practically brothers anyway. His Quidditch team had a two-week long break, so he had a lot of time on his hands.

Woojin and Mina were grateful for the help, especially since they still had to adjust to parenthood and Woojin had also a job to balance. Minho tended to joke around that his boyfriend was spending more time with Chanhee than with him, but he knew how much Chan adored the little girl, so he wasn't actually upset.

It came as no surprise that Chan was more than delighted when Woojin and Mina asked him to babysit.

“You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn't incredibly important...”, Woojin told him. He had to go out of town because of something that came up at the Portkey Office. According to him, they insisted on sending the rookies to do the “dirty work” and there was no getting out of it if he wanted to keep his job.

Unfortunately, it fell on the same weekend the spa appointment Sana had rained on Mina to celebrate her recent engagement.

Chan waved off at his friend’s worry. “Important or not, I would never turn down an opportunity to hang out with my favorite girl in the world”, he answered gleefully while making cute faces at the baby in the buggy. “But it’s the first time she’ll be without either of us”, Woojin spoke up, concern laced in his voice. Mina nodded in agreement. “Don’t worry, guys. I’m a born babysitter. I know Chanhee well and in case of an emergency I know how to contact you”, Chan assured them.

“Alright...I trust you”, Woojin told him. “I have to go now. I’m already running late”, he added before looking at Mina. “Will you be okay?” he asked her, earning himself a nod from his fiancée. “I’ll be fine”, she assured him, sending him off with a kiss before facing Chan.

“Alright...Sana will be here any minute. I made you a list of instructions on what to do when she cries and when she usually naps and just everything you need to know”, Mina told him, pulling a folded piece of paper out of the pocket of her hoodie. “Are you sure you’re up for this? Because I can cancel-”

“Nope! You’re not cancelling anything! You deserve to relax for a bit, and I think Sana gave you the most suitable engagement present ever”, Chan interrupted her. Mina slumped her shoulders. “I just think it’s way too soon to leave her alone...”, she said in a worried tone of voice. “You’re not that far away. You can come back for her anytime if you really can’t take it. But I promise you, you have nothing to worry about”, the younger assured her.

“Trust me, once you’re there you’ll be glad to have time to yourself”, he added with a small chuckle. Mina gave her child a longing look. “I guess you’re right...but I’m just going to miss her a lot...”, she said. Before Chan could answer, the doorbell rang. “That must be Sana”, he stated, leaving Mina to open the front door.

He was right; on his doorstep stood his former Hufflepuff classmate a wide grin on her face. “Hi, Channie. Is Mina ready?” she questioned. Mina joined Chan at the door. “I’m ready”, she said, not without throwing a look over her shoulder to where the buggy stood. “Have fun, okay? Chanhee’s in good hands”, Chan told her reassuringly. Mina sighed and nodded. “See you in 36 hours”, she said, making the younger laugh.

“Bye Channie!” Sana shouted over her shoulder as the two girls took off. Chan waved at them before closing the front door and shifting his attention to the baby who had just started crying. It was almost like she’d sensed that her parents were both gone. Chan gently took her out of the buggy and tried to calm her down.

~

Minho came home more energized than usual. Sure, the day had been exhausting as hell, not that he had expected anything else when he’d decided to become an auror. But he had come across something that had brightened up his day significantly – he would just have to hide it underneath his cloak for now and hope that Chan would react well.

When he stepped into the kitchen, he was met with the single most adorable sight ever. Chan was washing the dishes, which wasn’t an unusual sight, but what made Minho almost coo out loud was the sleeping baby that was practically plastered to his chest in a baby carrier. He’d forgotten that today was the day Woojin and Mina would leave Chanhee in his care for the weekend.

Minho couldn’t help but just stand there and admire the sight for a moment. He was well aware of how much Chan adored the baby and how badly he wanted to start his own family as soon as possible. Minho couldn’t deny that the sight before him caused him to imagine what it would be like to have children with Chan one day.

“Jesus, how long have you been standing there?” Chan’s startled voice ripped Minho out of his daydream. He refocused on his boyfriend who was now facing him, as he pulled off his rubber gloves. “Not very long”, Minho replied, fully stepping into the kitchen to greet Chan with a kiss. “I have to say, the stay-at-home-dad look suits you”, he joked. Chan grinned and looked down at Chanhee.

“She wouldn’t stop crying every time I put her down and Mina wrote in her list that she actually loves the baby carrier, so...”, he trailed off sheepishly. “I see”, Minho replied with a fond chuckle. Before either of them could say anything else, though, a quiet but still audible “meow” reminded Minho of what he wanted to talk to Chan about. The older gave him a quizzical look, seemingly noticing the way Minho’s hands were still hidden underneath his cloak.

“Right...um...”, Minho trailed off, pulling a small, grey kitten with dark stripes from under his cloak and presenting it to Chan. “You know how Eunseo has a cat? Well, that cat had babies and Eunseo asked me if I wanted to adopt one and you know I can’t say no to kittens...”, he quickly explained, hoping that his boyfriend wouldn’t scold him for making that kind of decision without him.

Chan laughed quietly, reaching out to pet the kitten, which was barely any bigger than Minho’s palm. Its blue eyes curiously looked at Chan, making him coo before looking at his boyfriend again. “Well, we were going to get a cat anyway...”, he said, recalling a promise he made to Minho a while ago when they had decided to move in together. The younger’s face lit up at Chan’s words. “So, does that mean we can keep her?” he asked.

“Sure”, Chan replied. Minho let out a cheer, mindful not to wake Chanhee before he gently set the kitten down to let her explore her new home. “Did you also remember to bring supplies? Like food and a litter box?” Chan pointed out. Minho’s eyes widened. “Whoopsie, I completely forgot about that...will you be okay here while I go to the store?” he questioned.

Chanhee chose that exact moment to wake up, blinking a few times before promptly starting to cry. “I’ll be fine, she probably just needs a change of diaper”, Chan waved off. Minho leaned in to quickly peck him on the cheek before turning on his heel and leaving the kitchen with a “I’ll be quick, promise. Love you.”

Chan chuckled at his chaotic boyfriend before proceeding to take Chanhee to a more suitable place to change her diaper. The cat was still exploring her new surroundings and Chan couldn’t help but smile widely at how domestic his life with Minho had become.

Chanhee’s cries made Chan snap out of his thoughts and focus back on the little girl. “It's okay, sweetie. We're going to change that diaper and then you’re going to feel better right away!” Chan cooed at her, proceeding to do just that.

“There you go. Now you look like a real lady again”, he said, chuckling fondly at Chanhee, who looked up at him with wide brown eyes. Her resemblance to her mother was striking. Chan still found it hard to wrap his head around the fact that two of his best friends had a child together and were about to get married! If someone had told him about all of this one year ago, he probably would have laughed.

“Alright, baby Chanhee. What do you want to do while we wait for uncle Minho to get back?” he asked the little girl, of course without getting an answer. Instead, she just looked at him while making random noises. He laughed fondly and lifted Chanhee into his arms again, heading to the living room where he sat down on the couch with her.

~

Minho got back around 20 minutes later with all the necessary things their new cat might need. He dropped them off and went to the living room where he found his boyfriend on the couch playing with the baby, making funny faces at her and booping her nose occasionally. She reached out with her tiny hand to grab Chan’s thumb.

“You know, I could really get used to coming home to this kind of sight”, Minho said, taking a seat next to him. Chan looked at him with a smile. “Well, maybe someday in the future you will”, he answered, shifting his attention back to Chanhee who just made some kind of incomprehensible baby noise that Chan immediately copied.

“Are you really sure you’d like to have kids with me someday?” Minho questioned. Chan looked back at him. “I mean, I  _have_  been thinking about it...why, is that not what you want? Because that’s okay, too! I mean we’re still pretty young and we just moved in together, so-”

Minho smiled and leaned in to kiss his boyfriend, effectively cutting him off. “You’re rambling, Channie”, he pointed out. “I was just asking because...well, do you think I’d be any good as a...a real dad? Considering my rather irresponsible history and my screwed-up family”, he voiced his concerns, earning himself a wide-eyed look from Chan.

“You’ve matured so much since last year, Lee Minho. You’re not irresponsible at all. And there’s no way you’re going to be anything like your parents simply because you’re everything they’re not. You’re kind-hearted, caring, understanding, compassionate...I think your future children are going to be lucky to have you as their dad", Chan assured him.

Minho smiled at his words. It meant a lot to him that Chan thought that highly of him because if he was being honest with himself, there was nothing he wanted more than to grow old with Chan and start a family with him. But his boyfriend had made a pretty good point. They were still young, and they had just moved in together, so maybe they should get settled first and then maybe in a year, he could propose to Chan...

“What’s on your mind?” Chan asked him after a few moments of silence. Minho grinned secretively. “Nothing~”, he sing-songed, not wanting to spill his plans to Chan just yet. “Fine then, don’t tell me”, Chan huffed in mock-annoyance. Minho chuckled and side hugged him, resting his chin on Chan’s shoulder. “I was just thinking about what a great boyfriend I have”, he told him before looking at Chanhee. “And I was thinking about how pretty this little girl right here is”, he cooed at her.

A little meow from under the couch made him perk up. “Ah, of course. I didn't forget about you”, Minho said and slid off the couch. He crouched down to look under the couch and tried to lure the cat. She made a few careful steps towards him, sniffing his hand before nestling into his palm.

“Did you already think of a name for her?” Chan asked him. Minho shook his head and gently lifted the cat up in his palm, giving her a closer look. “She kind of looks like her name could be Elizabeth III”, he deadpanned, making Chan laugh. “Seriously?” he asked, but Minho was dead serious. He looked at the cat. “Do you like that name? Elizabeth III?”

The cat let out a little meow, which Minho took as a clear yes. Chan only laughed again, too used to his boyfriend being weird.

~

The weekend passed by quickly and Elizabeth III seemed to have gotten used to her new home. Chan was still doing an outstanding job with Chanhee, but today was the day her parents were picking her up. Granted, babysitting Chanhee for an entire weekend was harder than he had expected, especially when she cried during the night, but Chan just decided to view it as practice for the future.

“Your parents are going to be here soon, Chanhee. I’m gonna miss having you around, you know”, Chan told the little girl, as he fed her a bottle. Minho, who was sitting on the living room floor, playing with Elizabeth III, only chuckled. “You’ll still get to see her, Channie”, he pointed out. “Yeah, I know but I’m still going to miss her”, Chan replied just as the doorbell rang.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it”, Minho said and got up from the floor to open the door. Chan heard him greet Woojin and Mina and just a few moments later they all entered the living room. “There’s my baby!” Woojin exclaimed cheerfully and walked over to the couch. Chan grinned at him. “I didn’t know you missed me  _that_  much”, he joked. Woojin stuck his tongue out at him, as Chan handed over his daughter.

“Were there any problems?” Mina questioned, crouching down next to Woojin to admire Chanhee. “None at all. I’m surprised you didn’t call”, Chan said to her. Mina pouted. “Sana wouldn’t let me anywhere near a phone”, she explained. “But, as much as I hate to admit it, it  _was_  nice to relax for a few days and have eight hours of sleep again for a change”, she admitted.

“That’s definitely one thing I’m looking forward to”, Minho commented from his seat on the floor. Elizabeth III had curled into his lap by now. “I don’t know how Chan’s not exhausted”, he added. Chan grinned. “I’m completely exhausted, make no mistake. But I love taking care of this little angel, so I didn’t mind.”

“Try doing this for seven weeks and then we’ll talk”, Mina joked. “No problem”, Chan replied confidently. Woojin chuckled at the exchange but kept most of his focus on Chanhee.

“Anyway, we should get home”, Mina said eventually rising to her feet again. Woojin got up from the couch, the baby still in his arms. Chan pouted, but nodded in agreement, nonetheless. “I packed all her stuff already”, he said and led them to where the buggy was parked in the hallway. Woojin gently put Chanhee inside, before he and Mina turned to Chan and Minho.

“Thank you guys so much for taking care of her”, Woojin said. “Anytime”, Chan replied, waving off. “He means that”, Minho threw in with a light chuckle. “But really, it was no problem. It’s good practice”, he added, sounding more serious. Woojin and Mina shared a look at his words. “Interesting”, Mina grinned.

Woojin, Mina and Chanhee then bid their goodbyes to Chan and Minho and headed home. “What now?” Chan asked, when he and Minho headed back to the living room where Chan sat down. Minho straddled him wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “I know you’re bummed out about not having Chanhee around but at least now I got you all to myself again”, he said.

Chan seemed light up at the statement, placing his hands on Minho’s hips. “That is a very good point”, he agreed, as Minho leaned closer to kiss him, almost eagerly and Chan smiled into the kiss. Minho’s hands started to roam over his shoulders, his chest, swiftly undoing the top button of Chan’s shirt when-

“Meow.”

They pulled apart and looked to the side to see Elizabeth III sitting on the armrest of the couch, staring at them like she knew what they were up to. “I feel like we should probably take this somewhere more private”, Chan suggested, but Minho was already scrambling off his lap to pet the kitten and play with her.

“Seriously?” Chan asked with a disbelieving laugh. Minho shot him a sheepish grin. “Sorry Channie, she’s just too cute”, he told his boyfriend, shrugging his shoulders. Chan would be offended that he lost to the cat, but Minho just looked so happy, playing with her that he couldn’t bring himself to mind. And he was right, after all, Elizabeth III really was adorable.

“You’re lucky I love you both”, Chan mumbled as he moved over to where Minho was stroking the cat under the chin which she seemed to appreciate. He pecked Minho on the cheek and reached out to ruffle Elizabeth’s fur, thinking that this was a pretty great family he had there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this seems a little rushed I tried my best


	10. I am [conflicted]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes hello, it is I, Jenny, the sister. After a long time of only helping out our genius author Joy with the ideas and some minor scenes here and there, I finally got to write one of the one shots by myself!  
> I enjoyed writing about this new ship so much and really put my heart and into this chapter. I really hope you guys, our dear audience, love this as much as I do. This is the longest thing I've ever written and I hope you come to enjoy my style of writing.
> 
> Anyways enough of the cheesy chit chat, let's sit back, get comfy and most importantly get ready to go soft!  
> Enjoy! 
> 
> -Jenny, the sister.

“Okay, let’s wrap up for today. You guys did well. But one more thing, Jeongin. I need you to focus on finding the Snitch instead of watching the other players, alright? We need to win that game against Slytherin tomorrow!” Lucas told Jeongin after the Hufflepuff Quidditch team practice had ended. “Y-yes, Lucas, I’ll do better next time!” Jeongin replied and laughed nervously, earning a smile from Lucas as he landed on the grass, just like the other team members, ready to head for the locker rooms after a couple of hours of training.

Jeongin sighed when Eric appeared next to him. “Isn’t he just so dreamy…” he swooned, his eyes glued to the Hufflepuff Team Captain and seventh-year Lucas Wong. Eric chuckled. “He isn’t exactly my type. He’s too much of a jock. I’m more into bookworms… like Juyeon”, he mumbled the last part but Jeongin didn’t really listen, anyway. He was too distracted by Lucas.

Jeongin couldn’t remember what had caused his feelings for Lucas in the first place, but he was convinced that his crush wasn’t one-sided. It wasn’t just because of the fact that the older had always looked out for him ever since Jeongin had joined the Quidditch team last year, but he had also started to receive mysterious little love notes every now and then about a month ago, and he was almost sure that they were from Lucas. It just seemed like a cute thing somebody like Lucas would do.

Jeongin entered the locker room to change back into his robes and smiled brightly when he found another one of these notes pinned to his locker.  _‘You caught my heart, just like you caught that Snitch’_ , it read, a little heart drawn at the end. Jeongin giggled as he read the message, hugged it to his chest and looked in Lucas’ direction. The older didn’t notice Jeongin’s gaze, too busy talking to Choi Bomin, one of the other team members, and laughing his melodic laugh. He was such a great captain and so sweet, handsome and funny… it was hard not to like him!

Jeongin was still smiling widely when he walked through the castle about half an hour later, on his way to the library to meet Bae Jinyoung for his tutoring lesson in Transfigurations. “What made _you_ so happy?” a familiar voice suddenly spoke up next to him. It belonged to none other than his closest childhood friend and Gryffindor from his year, Lee Daehwi. He’d been so busy daydreaming that he hadn’t even noticed his friend walk up to him.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Today is just a really great day, don’t you think?” the slightly younger replied happily. He just couldn’t shake the giddy feeling that bubbled up in his chest whenever he thought of Lucas. “If you say so”, the Gryffindor chuckled and matched his walking speed to Jeongin’s, “Where are you headed to?”, he questioned.

“Oh, you know, I have another tutoring lesson with Jinyoung at the library now”, Jeongin said, pouting. Jinyoung’s tutoring lessons were fun, but he still couldn’t get himself to get enthusiastic about doing anything related to Transfigurations, as it was his least favorite subject.

“Right, I remember”, Daehwi said and sighed along with his friend. “I could really use some tutoring in Transfiguration, too… If I don’t get better, I’ll probably end up failing my OWLs this year!” he added, causing Jeongin to turn to him, an encouraging smile on his face. “Yeah, Jinyoung’s lessons are really helpful, you should ask him to teach you too!”

Daehwi blushed a bit when Jeongin smiled at him. “Y-yeah, I will… Maybe we could go, you know, together…” he mumbled, clearly flustered. Jeongin nodded excitedly and pulled him into a quick hug before turning to leave. “Anyways, I should get going, now. I don’t wanna make him wait. See you later, Daehwi!” he chirped and took off.

~

“Jinyoung, hi!” Jeongin said as he entered the library and spotted the sixth-year Ravenclaw sitting at one of the tables, a couple of books and his wand in front of him. Jinyoung closed the book he was currently reading and nervously smiled up at Jeongin. The Hufflepuff sat down across from him and got out his wand, ready to practice.

He had met Jinyoung through Jisung, who had introduced the two of them after promising to find Jeongin a tutor for Transfigurations. They didn’t know each other very well yet, mainly because Jinyoung had just transferred to Hogwarts at the beginning of the school year, so it was still a little bit awkward between them. Nonetheless, the sixth-year was a really good tutor and he’d even managed to help Jeongin improve his grades a little bit in such a short period of time.

“Do you have any assignments?” Jinyoung asked the younger. “Yeah, I need to practice that duplication spell we learned today… I’m really not good at it…” Jeongin replied, pouting. He was so bad at Transfigurations and it upset him every time he thought about it. Luckily, the Ravenclaw in front of him was always patient with him, which was probably the main reason why his lessons actually helped Jeongin stay motivated enough improve.

“Great, let’s practice that, then”, Jinyoung said as Jeongin pulled out his books. “Show me how you do it first and I’ll correct your mistakes”, he suggested calmly.

Jeongin lifted his wand and tried to duplicate the feather in front of him, paying extra attention to pronounce the word clearly, since that was something he struggled with. A second feather appeared next to the original one, but it looked a bit bent and much smaller than its original. Jeongin sighed in frustration.

“That was already pretty good but try to focus on the way you flick your wand. Try doing it like this”, Jinyoung said and lifted his own wand before demonstrating the spell to Jeongin. Another feather appeared, and it looked just like the original. Jeongin gasped in awe. “Wow, Jinyoung! It looks exactly the same! You’re so good at this!” the fifth-year said excitedly, earning a warning glare from the librarian as he examined the feather Jinyoung had summoned.

The older looked away, his cheeks turning a bit pink. “T-thanks, I practiced it a lot when I was in your year…”, he mumbled. “Teach me your ways, please!”

Jinyoung showed Jeongin the proper way to flick his wand, gave him some more tips about the duplicating spell and the two of them practiced for about an hour, summoning more and more feathers. By the end of the lesson, Jeongin’s feathers were still small but not bent anymore.

“Let’s stop here for today. You’ve improved a lot today, Jeongin”, Jinyoung smiled, putting away his books. Jeongin smiled happily. Transfigurations was so much more fun when he practiced it with Jinyoung. “It’s all thanks to you, Jinyoung. Thanks for helping me out!” the younger smiled as he left the library to head back to the dorm for the evening.

His dormmates Guanlin and Kangmin were hanging around in the common room, so he decided to join them. “Hey, Jeongin. Where have you been?” Guanlin questioned, his eyes still focused on the Wizard’s Chessboard in front of him. He was in the middle of losing a match against Kangmin. Jeongin grinned as he watched. “I had a tutoring session”, he announced, actually feeling pretty good about it due to his improvement.

Kangmin wagged his eyebrows. “Isn’t your tutor the new guy, Bae Jinyoung?” he smirked and checkmated Guanlin with his final move.

Jeongin gave him a confused look. “Yeah? Why?” He already knew that Kim Kangmin was into gossip, so he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to hear what he had to say about Jinyoung. “I heard he’s good”, Kangmin said, the smirk still lingering on his face.

Jeongin furrowed his brows. He didn’t really know where Kangmin was going with this. “I guess so. My grades have improved a bit. And he’s very nice and patient with me”, he explained. Kangmin’s grin widened. “And he’s cute, right?” he questioned. Jeongin felt his cheeks heat up. He hadn’t really thought about that, but it wasn’t like Kangmin was wrong.

“We’re just friends, though. He helps me pass Transfiguration and I’m thankful for that”, he said and Guanlin only chuckled. “Besides, I like... someone else”, Jeongin added, looking away in embarrassment. Kangmin’s face lit up at his words, his eyes hungry for more juicy gossip. “Do tell”, he said, but Jeongin waved off, not really feeling like talking about his crush on Lucas – especially not to Kim Kangmin. If he Kangmin found out, the whole school would find out about it too.

Luckily, Guanlin seemed to sense Jeongin’s discomfort and quickly changed the subject. “So, the Quidditch game against Slytherin is tomorrow.” Jeongin shot him a grateful look as he nodded. “It’s my first game this season, so I’m a little nervous. Especially since we’re playing against last year’s winner...”

“I’m sure you’ll do great tomorrow”, Guanlin encouraged him with a smile. Jeongin hoped that he was right. He knew that he was good at Quidditch, and he was excited about his first game, but he still couldn’t help but worry about playing against Slytherin. “Even though I might be slightly rooting for Slytherin since Jihoon is also on the team”, Guanlin added with a sly smirk. Kangmin huffed in amusement before a thought seemed to cross his mind, causing his expression to darken.

“I heard Hyunjin put Kim Sunwoo on the team”, he said, a disgusted expression on his face. Jeongin perked up at the name. “ _That_ Kim Sunwoo?” Guanlin questioned in disbelief. “Jihoon didn’t tell me about that...” he added, seeming a bit worried. “I know him”, Jeongin spoke up excitedly after a pause.

Two wide pairs of eyes landed on him. “H-How do you know him?” Kangmin sounded so horrified that it took Jeongin a few seconds to answer.

“Well, he’s friends with friend Hyunjin, so I’ve talked to him before. And we bumped into each other on the train a few weeks back”, he finally explained. Kangmin gasped in shock. “He bumped into you? Did you get hurt?” he asked, reaching out to grab Jeongin’s shoulders and frantically searching his body for any kind of injury. Jeongin shook him off with furrowed eyebrows. “I didn’t get hurt! He also apologized to me and helped me up. I don’t see the problem.”

“The problem is that Kim Sunwoo is _creepy_ and _dangerous_. I heard he skins cats in the dungeons and you’re probably his next target!” Kangmin explained, horror evident in his voice.

Jeongin was beyond confused now. He was pretty sure Kangmin was exaggerating. Him being Sunwoo’s next ‘target’? What was that even supposed to mean? He’d never gotten any weird vibes from Sunwoo and he was sure that Hyunjin wouldn’t be friends with him if he was as dangerous as Kangmin made him seem.

“Listen, Jeongin. We know you’re a sweetheart and you only want to see the best in people, but you need to stay away from Sunwoo. He’s dangerous!” Guanlin told him, almost sternly. Jeongin rolled his eyes at them.

“You guys keep saying that, but how is he dangerous? He was nothing but nice to me so far”, he argued, slowly but surely getting frustrated with his friends’ behavior. “And what did you mean by  _target_?” he now addressed Kangmin, who had significantly paled.

“My friend told me that Sunwoo pushed a girl down the big staircase near the Great Hall in his second year. The poor girl was stuck in the hospital wing for weeks. Apparently, Sunwoo previously “bumped” into that girl as well. We’re just looking out for you, Jeongin...”, Kangmin said, causing a frown to form on Jeongin’s face.

“Sounds to me like you’re just making stuff up. Sunwoo is Hyunjin’s friend and I haven’t seen him act weird or violent so far. Stop spreading rumors when you don’t even know him”, he scolded his friend and rose from his seat on the couch.

“Neither do you”, Kangmin argued, shrugging. It was true, but Jeongin still didn’t think that Sunwoo would purposefully hurt someone. As far as Jeongin could tell, the Slytherin seemed rather shy and reserved. “I’m going to bed”, Jeongin said in a finalizing tone, already heading toward the stairs. “Good night.”

~

The next morning, Daehwi joined Jeongin at the Hufflepuff table to eat breakfast. Jeongin felt even more nervous about the Quidditch game than he had the day before. It was the first game of the season and he really didn’t want to disappoint Lucas. He really hoped he could just catch the Snitch very early in the game and secure their win.

“Are you very nervous?” Daehwi asked as he poured himself some pumpkin juice. Jeongin smiled at him. Somehow the Gryffindor always managed to guess what was on Jeongin’s mind. “Yeah, I guess you could say that… The pressure is really high, you know?” Jeongin admitted, “I don’t want to let the team down. It’s the first game of the season, after all.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do great. I’ll definitely cheer for you”, the Gryffindor smiled and reached out to squeeze Jeongin’s hand reassuringly before focusing back on his meal. “Thanks, Daehwi! I already feel a lot better”, Jeongin smiled and felt his confidence return. He’d caught so many Snitches before, he would be able to catch this one as well!

Daehwi blushed slightly, biting his lip in thought. He looked like he wanted to want to say something else but seemed unsure whether he should actually do it or not.

“After the game… do you maybe want to go to Hogsmeade with me?” Daehwi finally asked. “Sure, sounds good! Let’s do that”, Jeongin confirmed happily before finishing his toast. Daehwi smiled widely at him and blushed a bit more.

After breakfast, the two fifth years decided to head to the Quidditch field together, talking about what they were going to do in Hogsmeade after the game on their way there. Once they’d arrived, Daehwi wished Jeongin good luck and headed for the spectator’s area to watch the game from there. Meanwhile, Jeongin made his way to the locker rooms, changed into his yellow uniform and joined the other team members who were meeting up on the field.

Lucas discussed some techniques with the team and next thing Jeongin knew, the game had already started and he was on his broomstick, eagerly looking for the Snitch far above the ground. He tried hard not to get distracted by the other players or the happenings of the game and focused on his part instead, just like Lucas had told him the day before at practice.

All he knew was that after about half an hour of playing, Slytherin was leading the game and that he needed to find the Snitch soon if he wanted to secure his team’s win. He roamed through the air with squinted eyes, trying to spot the tiny golden ball, but it was nowhere to be seen. Jeongin was so focused on letting his eyes scan the air that he didn’t see the large Bludger approaching him at the speed of light.

“Watch out!” he heard another player yell, but it was already too late; the Bludger had hit his arm and sharp pain flared up in his wrist. Jeongin tried to move his wrist but decided that that was a bad idea. He let out a pained gasp and let himself sink to the ground after realizing that he wouldn’t be able to catch the Snitch with a - probably broken - wrist.

A few seconds later, the crowd cheered loudly, and the players stopped in their tracks as the announcer declared that the Slytherin Seeker had caught the Snitch, ending the game. That’s when people slowly started to notice that something was wrong with Jeongin.

He was still wincing at the pain in his wrist when he felt somebody fly towards him. It was one of Slytherin’s new Beaters, Kim Sunwoo who had smoothly landed in front of Jeongin, a worried expression on his face. He carelessly let his broom drop to the floor beside them and reached for Jeongin’s injured wrist. “A-Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Get away from him, you creep! You didn’t have to hit him like that!” Lucas exclaimed as he and a few other players, both Hufflepuff and Slytherin, had landed near Jeongin to make sure he was alright. “It was an accident, I-”

Sunwoo didn’t get to finish his sentence as Lucas forcefully grabbed the collar of his Quidditch uniform and angrily pulled him away from Jeongin, causing him to stumble backward. “And don’t fucking touch him, weirdo!” he growled.

“Leave him alone, he didn’t do it on purpose!” Hyunjin chimed in, stepping in front of Sunwoo and shooting a warning glare at Lucas before carefully inspecting Jeongin’s wrist.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Hyunjin asked and Jeongin shook his head. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of Lucas and he also didn’t want to make the situation worse. “Just a little bit…”, he replied quietly. Hyunjin nodded. “Let’s get you to the hospital wing. I’m sure Madame Pomfrey can fix you up in mere seconds”, he assured Jeongin with a smile before telling two of his teammates to escort the younger to the hospital wing.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Hwang? I told you not to let that weirdo play for your team! All he ever does is get people hurt wherever he goes. He’s going to get us all killed sooner or later!”, Lucas yelled and shoved Sunwoo once more, making the Slytherin almost fall over.

He didn’t fight back and just looked down to his feet in guilt. Meanwhile, Lucas was still shaking with anger.

“That is enough, Lucas! You need to calm down. I told you it was an accident and Jeongin will be fine. You’re-”, Hyunjin started, sounding more and more irritated by the second, but Sunwoo put a hand on his shoulder, interrupting him. “It’s okay, Hyunjin, he’s not wrong... It’s my fault, I-I should’ve paid more attention to where I sent the Bludger”, he claimed, his eyes still directed to his feet. “But Sunwoo, he’s-”

“Let’s just go, please…” Sunwoo mumbled. He was used to people hating him and was already thankful enough that Hyunjin bothered to stand up for him every time this happened. He didn’t want Hyunjin’s reputation to suffer just because of him. Hyunjin gave Lucas one last glare before letting Sunwoo pull him toward the locker rooms. “Weirdo!” Lucas yelled after him.

~

“There you go, kid, it should get better now”, Madame Pomfrey said after giving Jeongin some bone-healing medicine. It tasted completely disgusting, but he already felt the pain in his wrist lessen. “Thanks, Madame Pomfrey!” he smiled and let himself sink into the pillow. The nurse smiled at him before hurrying off to take care of some other patients. “Jeongin!”

The Hufflepuff sat back up when he heard Daehwi call him. He used his healthy hand to wave at the Gryffindor, who was jogging over to his bed. “Are you okay? I saw you get hit by that Bludger just as Chaeyoung caught the Snitch! When I came down to the field you were already gone!” he said, hastily sitting down next to the slightly younger. “Calm down, Daehwi, I’m okay!” Jeongin chuckled. “I already feel a lot better”, he added.

Daehwi released a sigh of relief and placed a chocolate bar on the bedside table, causing Jeongin to smile brightly. “Yay, chocolate!” he cheered. “I was going to give it to you after the game… I didn’t know you were going to get hurt”, Daehwi replied.

“Right! Sorry that we can’t go to Hogsmeade now…” Jeongin apologized with a pout, causing Daehwi’s cheeks to heat up again. “No, don’t apologize! Focus on getting better quickly instead”, he said before checking the time. He excused himself and left for class, telling Jeongin to enjoy his chocolate and that he would come back after class tomorrow. Jeongin started to feel tired soon after and fell asleep, exhausted from the game and all the nervousness he had felt that morning.

~

Sunwoo looked up from his book when Hyunjin entered the dorm room that evening and let himself fall backward on his bed. He still looked pissed off because of what had happened on the field earlier. Ever since their second year, Hyunjin had never gotten along well with Lucas but it had rarely ever come to a confrontation like this between them.

Sunwoo felt horrible. He really didn’t mean to hit Jeongin with the Bludger, he had just tried to prevent it from knocking his teammate Hyunjoon off his broomstick. Jeongin just happened to be in the exact direction Sunwoo had sent the Bludger off to.

Things like that always happened to Sunwoo. All he did was hurt everyone around him and be a bother. Was Jeongin really okay? Sunwoo couldn’t help but worry about him. It was his fault that he got hurt after all. He sighed deeply.

“Dude, are you listening?” Hyunjin said, ripping Sunwoo out of his thoughts. The slightly younger turned to look at him. He hadn’t even noticed that Hyunjin was talking to him. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Hyunjin sighed before chuckling and got up to sit next to Sunwoo on his bed. “I said, don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s not your fault. Lucas is just an asshole”, he told him. Sunwoo appreciated his words but Hyunjin was wrong. It _was_ his fault. It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for him.

Sunwoo remained silent for a few seconds, unable to shake the feeling of guilt. “…I’m really tired. I’m going to bed early”, he mumbled eventually. Hyunjin gave him a small smile and nodded. “Alright… I still have some assignments to finish, so I’ll be up for a while longer”, he announced as Sunwoo hummed in acknowledgment, got more comfortable on his bed, and pulled the blanket over his head.

~

Sunwoo sat up on his bed very early the next morning, still feeling terrible. He couldn’t sleep at all that night, Lucas’ harsh words repeating over and over in his head. Why did he always have to hurt people? Why _him_ …? He sat up on his bed and sighed before deciding to wash up already since he knew that he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. When he returned from the washroom, Hyunjin was already sitting on his bed, giving him a surprised look.  “Oh, you’re up already?” he questioned. Sunwoo plopped back down on his bed. “Yeah… I didn’t really sleep…” he told Hyunjin.

“…About Jeongin… do you think he’s alright…?” Sunwoo asked awkwardly. Hyunjin gave him a knowing look, but answered his question, nonetheless. “When I went to see him at the hospital wing yesterday afternoon, he was still in pain. I was gonna go check on him again today and bring him some chocolate or something to cheer him up”, Hyunjin answered. He paused for a second before grinning at Sunwoo. “Do you want to go there together?”

Sunwoo thought about it for a second but then shook his head. “No… I don’t think he would want to see me…”

~

Thanks to just a single glass of bone-healing medicine, Jeongin’s wrist had already stopped hurting when he woke up the next morning. He yawned, stretched and smiled at the mountain of gifts on his bedside table. The chocolate from Daehwi was still there, along with some other presents from his friends. However, there was also a large bouquet of flowers with a note pinned to them and as usual, it didn’t say who it was from.

 _‘The flower of my life is withering without the sunshine of your face. Get well soon’_ , it read. Jeongin’s heart fluttered at the message. Lucas was so sweet and thoughtful… the effort he put into writing those notes for Jeongin was amazing. It just made him even more dreamy. The flowers were beautiful too and they had such a nice scent…

Jeongin was still smelling the flowers, smiling like an idiot, just as he heard somebody enter the hospital wing. “Come on, I promise you, he won’t be mad”, he heard Hyunjin say and watched as he dragged another person into the room with him. It seemed to be Sunwoo, who looked anxious and uncomfortable. “It was my fault! Why would he not be mad…” he protested as he involuntarily got dragged further into the room by his classmate.

Jeongin couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight as the two Slytherins came to a halt next to his bed. Hyunjin casually put another chocolate bar on Jeongin’s bedside table and took a seat on the chair by his bed while Sunwoo remained a few steps away, silently looking to his feet. “Hi, Hyunjin and Sunwoo!” Jeongin smiled at them and thanked Hyunjin for the chocolate.

“Sunwoo here felt so bad about what happened yesterday that he couldn’t even sleep because of it-”, Hyunjin started before Sunwoo slapped his arm in embarrassment. Hyunjin chuckled and just continued, “So he’s here to apologize without Lucas interrupting him.”

Sunwoo shot Hyunjin a glare before sighing. “I’m sorry that I got you hurt… I really didn’t mean to. It-it’s just something that happens to the people around me…” the younger Slytherin mumbled. Jeongin was moved that the two of them came all the way over here just to tell him that, but he also felt bad for making everyone worry so much.

“No, no, don’t worry about it! It wasn’t even that bad and I’m already healed”, Jeongin assured him and showed him the affected wrist, flicking it around. “Look!” he said, “It’s me who should be sorry for worrying you so much that you couldn’t even sleep…!”

Sunwoo looked a bit relieved that Jeongin didn’t seem to be mad at him. “Oh, and you also shouldn’t worry about what Lucas said… He’s a nice guy, I’m sure it’s just because he doesn’t know you!” Jeongin said with a smile.

However, he couldn’t help but think about what Kangmin had said the other day. How come everyone thought that Sunwoo was creepy when he’d made such an effort to genuinely apologize for something that could easily be considered an accident?

They talked for a little while longer before the two Slytherins left the hospital wing again, relieved to hear that Jeongin was okay. “See? I told you Jeongin wouldn’t be mad. He knows that it’s not your fault”, Hyunjin said as the two of them headed towards the Great Hall for lunch.

Sunwoo just nodded wordlessly. He was glad that Jeongin wasn’t mad at him, but at the same time, he still hated himself for being such an unlucky charm. He knew that this wasn’t the last time something like this would happen.

~

Even though Jeongin already felt completely healthy, Madame Pomfrey insisted on keeping him at the hospital wing for two more days, which ended up being very boring. Daehwi visited Jeongin every day to help him catch up on the classes he had missed and to just spend time with him.

Eventually, Jeongin was discharged and back on his schedule. He had another tutoring lesson with Jinyoung after class, practicing the duplication spell, when he saw Sunwoo entering the library. The Hufflepuff smiled and greeted him with a wave when their eyes met, causing Sunwoo to wave back awkwardly before heading off to a different section of the library.

Jinyoung looked confused. “Is he your friend?” the Ravenclaw asked after Sunwoo had left their field of view. “Yeah, I think so”, Jeongin shrugged.

“…Didn’t he attack you with a Bludger just a few days ago?” Jinyoung questioned, earning a gasp from the younger. “It was an accident! He just didn’t see me”, Jeongin replied, defending Sunwoo. Was everyone in this castle just going to continue pretending that Sunwoo had injured Jeongin on purpose?

Jinyoung just furrowed his brows in thought before continuing his lesson. After about fifteen more minutes of trying to get the spell right, Jeongin finally managed to successfully duplicate the feather in front of him, causing him to jump up excitedly. “Oh my god! I did it!” he exclaimed and did a victory dance, earning a sharp glare from the librarian which caused him to sit back down and beam at his tutor. Jinyoung gave him a fond smile. “Good job, Jeongin”, he said.

The older then started to put his books back into his bag and ended the lesson, since he still had somewhere to go. “Wait!” Jeongin said after Jinyoung had gotten up from his seat and was about to leave. He quickly placed a kiss on his cheek, catching him by surprise. “Thank you so much, Jinyoung! I couldn’t have done it without your help”, he smiled as the Ravenclaw turned red.

“N-no problem…!” he stammered before leaving the library in a whim. Jeongin still felt very proud of himself, even after Jinyoung had already left. He didn’t want to return to his dorm yet and he remembered that Sunwoo had entered the library earlier, so he decided to look for the Slytherin.

It didn’t take him very long to find the older in front of one of the bookshelves, seemingly looking for a specific book. “Sunwoo, hey!” Jeongin smiled as he approached him. Sunwoo seemed surprised as he turned away from the bookshelf to face the Hufflepuff. “O-oh… hi, Jeongin. Are you feeling better yet?” he asked awkwardly. Maybe he still felt bad about what happened on the Quidditch field. “Of course! I’m fully recovered!” Jeongin cheered, flailing his once-injured wrist, earning a relieved look from the Slytherin. “What are you up to?” Jeongin asked casually.

“I’m looking for a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts. I like to do a lot of self-studying…” he admitted. “Wow, how diligent! Do you need any help finding it?” Jeongin asked. “N-no, it’s fine… I’m sure I’ll find it soon”, Sunwoo replied, but Jeongin ended up helping him look for it anyway.

It only took them a couple of minutes to find the book Sunwoo was looking for and they returned to their respective common rooms soon after.

~

Sitting on his bed and studying, Sunwoo found himself getting distracted by his own thoughts more than usual. Why was Jeongin so nice to him every time their paths crossed? They didn’t even know each other well. Sure, they had talked to a couple of times, but it had never been about anything significant. And back when Sunwoo had carried him back to the Hufflepuff common room after Hyunjin’s birthday party last year, he wasn’t even awake and probably didn’t even know that it ever happened.

Usually, people would get mad at Sunwoo for much less. Nobody really wanted to have anything to do with him because of his bad reputation and all those rumors surrounding him, except for Hyunjin, of course. So why would somebody as popular as Yang Jeongin be nice to someone dangerous like him?

Sunwoo shook his head and focused back on his studies for a few minutes until another thought crossed his mind. Jeongin didn’t just forgive him for hurting him, but he’d even helped him at the library earlier. Why would he bother smiling at someone as unimportant as Sunwoo? On his own accord, too? He must be a really nice person if he didn’t avoid someone like him. Sunwoo figured that that must be why he was so popular with everyone. He had a very positive aura to him; something so positive that just drew Sunwoo in…

Sunwoo found himself wishing he could get to know him, but he knew that he couldn’t. Especially because he was so nice. He didn’t deserve the consequences of being anywhere near Sunwoo and his circumstances. He had already caused him enough harm without being close to him.

~

Jeongin made his way to the Great Hall, a bright smile on his face. It was a great day; it was Saturday, so there were no classes, Christmas break was only one week away, and on top of that, he had found another note from Lucas on his pillow this morning. The young Hufflepuff sighed happily as he entered the Great Hall and decided to sit near Lucas for breakfast.

“Oh, good morning, Jeongin”, the older said when Jeongin sat down next to him and gave him a smile. Jeongin blushed a bit and grabbed some food to fill his plate. “Lucas, by the way, I never thanked you for the flowers!” he suddenly spoke up in realization. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows. “Flowers?” he asked.

“Yeah, the ones you left at the hospital wing the other day! They were so pretty, thank you~” Jeongin explained, feeling his cheeks warm up when he remembered the note that had been pinned to the flowers. Lucas still looked confused, however. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what you-”

“Lucas, dude!” Ju Haknyeon, a Slytherin in Lucas’ year, interrupted him as he ran over to the Hufflepuff table. He seemed excited to tell him about something. “Park Woojin is planning an awesome party for Christmas break and you have to come!” he announced. “Man, I would love to come, but I’m going to Switzerland with my girlfriend over Christmas…”, Lucas declined, causing Haknyeon to pout and return to his seat at the Slytherin table.

His…girlfriend? Jeongin didn’t even know that he had a… girlfriend. He felt his heart drop a bit. Jeongin was so shocked that he didn’t even react to Lucas excusing himself and getting up to leave the Great Hall. Did that mean that the cute notes weren’t from Lucas either? Then who were they from?

Jeongin finished his breakfast, unable to lose the pout on his face after finding out that his crush had been one-sided, and based on a misunderstanding, all along. He also wondered who his secret admirer could be, but he couldn’t think of any suspects. Maybe it was somebody he didn’t even know?

“Hey, what got you so down?” Daehwi, who had decided to join Jeongin at his table, asked, earning a deep sigh from him. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “I thought I knew who these notes were from, but I was wrong…” Jeongin replied, still trying to figure out who it could be.

“Um…notes?” the Gryffindor questioned. “Yeah, I’ve been getting these cute little love notes from some secret admirer and I thought it was Lucas, but he has a girlfriend…” he explained. Daehwi furrowed his eyebrows. “Why did you think it was him?” he asked, confused.

Jeongin felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Now that he thought about it, he probably just wanted it to be Lucas because of his crush on him… how ridiculous of him. Luckily, Daehwi moved on from his question without pressing Jeongin for an answer. “Well… do you have any idea… who it could be…?” the Gryffindor questioned, taking a sip of his friend’s juice.

Jeongin thought about it for a few more seconds before he gasped. “What if it’s that guy who kissed me at the Halloween party two months ago!?” he said excitedly, thinking back to it. Daehwi’s face turned deep red.

“W-what?”, he asked, laughing nervously and taking another sip of the juice. “I don’t know… Maybe he’ll reveal himself eventually…”, Jeongin sighed.

“…M-Maybe…”, Daehwi chuckled nervously, his face still flushed.

“Oh, I forgot! Can you do me a huge favor?” Jeongin asked with another gasp. “Um, sure, anything”, Daehwi replied, seemingly glad that the Hufflepuff had changed the subject. “Can I copy the Potions homework from you? It’s due tomorrow and I totally forgot about it…” Jeongin pouted at the Gryffindor. “I don’t know if what I wrote is good though… Wouldn’t it be better to ask someone who’s better at Potions than me…?” Daehwi chuckled, shyly scratching the back of his head.

“But I don’t know who else to ask… Pretty please?” Jeongin whined. The Gryffindor looked at Jeongin for a second, thinking, until he agreed to it. “Alright then, but don’t shade me if it ends up being wrong!” he said, earning a bright smile from Jeongin. “Thank you so much, Daehwi!” he cheered and leaned forward to give him a peck on the cheek.

Daehwi froze for a second and his cheeks went beet red before he awkwardly cleared his throat and took yet another sip of the juice.

“Anyway, enough about me! What are you doing over Christmas, Daehwi?” Jeongin changed the subject again, which the other seemed pretty glad about. “I’m going home to spend the holidays with my family, just like every year”, Daehwi smiled and happily told Jeongin about some Christmas traditions he and his family had.

After a few more minutes of talking to Daehwi, Jeongin remembered that he still hadn’t sent that letter that he wanted to send to his brother and headed for the Owlery to do so. It was very cold outside, so the Hufflepuff decided to hurry through the snowy weather. When he entered the Owlery, he was surprised to find Sunwoo there. He was standing in front of one of the owls near the window, about to tie a letter to its feet.

“Oh, hi Sunwoo!” Jeongin smiled and approached the older, who seemed a bit startled and turned around to face him. “I didn’t expect to see you here, what a coincidence!” Jeongin beamed, causing Sunwoo to chuckle nervously. “S-Sorry… I’ll be done here soon…” Sunwoo said, about to turn around to quickly finish sending his letter, when Jeongin stopped him by grabbing his robes. “No, don’t be sorry! I’m happy to see you”, Jeongin laughed at how quick the older was to apologize for nothing. “What are you doing up here?” he questioned.

Sunwoo briefly showed him the letter in his hands, “I’m sending a letter to my sister”, he replied. “Oh, cute, I didn’t know you had a sister”, Jeongin said, “Are you going to see her when you go home for Christmas?”

Sunwoo paused and awkwardly looked to his feet. “I’m… not going home for Christmas…” he mumbled, making the younger gasp. “What, but you should spend Christmas with your family!” “My family is better off without me…”, Sunwoo mumbled in response.

There was a pause. What kind of family did Sunwoo have to make him say such a sad thing? Jeongin couldn’t imagine not getting along with his family. They had always been there for him and supported him, no matter what. How lonely Sunwoo must feel…

Jeongin held back his tears. “You know what… I’m going to stay here over Christmas break!” he eventually decided. He couldn’t just go and celebrate at home when he knew that one of his friends was in Hogwarts, spending Christmas in such a sad way. Sunwoo’s eyes widened, “Y-You really don’t have to do that! Like you said, you should spend Christmas with your family…” he replied.

“No, we’re friends! Nobody should spend Christmas alone and if you can’t spend the holidays with your family, you should spend it with your friends!” Jeongin insisted. “S-Still, you don’t have-”

“My parents are on a cruise anyway and my older brother is probably going to bring his fiancé over and they’ll probably just be overly cuddly and cheesy with me all the time and-”, he interrupted himself when he realized that he was rambling, his cheeks reddening a bit. Sunwoo looked at him and sighed. He seemed to figure that Jeongin wasn’t going to change his mind. “Fine…if you insist…”, he decided, making the younger cheer happily.

The air in the Owlery was getting pretty cold, so the two students decided to finally send their letters and head back to the castle together. They didn’t talk much on their way back, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. Once they had arrived back in the dungeons, they had to part ways to head to their respective common rooms.

Sunwoo couldn’t help but wonder about Jeongin. He was so nice and selfless, and it just didn’t make any sense to him. He didn’t care about Sunwoo’s reputation or anything, like all the others did. It was the first time Sunwoo actually looked forward to Christmas break. Maybe… Jeongin would want to spend some time with him…?

Sunwoo mentally slapped himself when he remembered. He shouldn’t get close to Jeongin! No matter how nice he was, no, _because_ of how nice he was! He would have to try to stay away from him. He didn’t want to harm him any more than he already had because of his… circumstances.

~

The next week passed rather quickly and next thing Jeongin knew, it was finally Christmas break. Jeongin had already unpacked his things again and contacted his family about staying in Hogwarts after all. This was the first year he didn’t go home over Christmas break, but he didn’t mind at all, instead, he looked forward to experiencing what Hogwarts was like over Christmas.

He was also looking forward to getting to know Sunwoo a bit more. After all, he was the whole reason why Jeongin decided to stay and he didn’t really know a lot about him.

The castle slowly started to clear out until only about 70 students were left. On the first day, Jeongin decided to explore the castle a little, now that it wasn’t as lively and crowded as usual. He found some really nice hangout spots that he had never even been to before, even though he had been in this castle for five years.

On the second day, he ran into Sunwoo when he was just about to leave the dungeons and decided to hang out with him for a bit, despite the Slytherin’s protests. It turned out that Sunwoo knew a lot of nice places around the castle, like for example a bench next to a window on the second floor of the Astronomy tower, that showed a beautiful view of the Black Lake and the Quidditch field. They sat and talked there for a long time until they were out of things to talk about, causing them to fall into a comfortable silence as they watched the snow fall.

Jeongin didn’t understand why the other students were so cautious around Sunwoo. He seemed like a good guy, who was just a little shy and closed off. Not dangerous, weird or creepy or any of those other things his friends had called him. Sure, you needed to take your time with him, but Jeongin found himself even more interested in finding out more and more about him. For example, why he always wore gloves even when he was inside or why he always avoided touching people, as if he was scared that he could hurt people with his bare hands. Those were some odd things Jeongin had noticed a while ago but didn’t know how to ask about them without possibly sounding rude.

The two of them also hung out in places that were usually too crowded for comfort, like the library or the Clocktower Courtyard, and talked about anything and everything. Jeongin told Sunwoo a lot about his family, especially about his brothers and what they would usually do around Christmas. Sunwoo didn’t really like to talk about his own family but enjoyed listening to Jeongin telling him stories about his. Even if he couldn’t relate to most of the things he said, he was glad that the Hufflepuff was so happy and loved.

The day after that, Jeongin found out that Sunwoo usually skipped a lot of his meals and dragged him to the Great Hall for lunch. “You can’t just skip your meals, you need to be healthy”, he scolded, putting a mountain of food on Sunwoo’s plate. “I generally don’t eat a lot. It’s like I don’t really need food”, Sunwoo explained. “That’s ridiculous, everybody needs food, you dummy!” Jeongin said, pouting.

Sunwoo didn’t feel very hungry but started to eat anyway. After all, Jeongin had put in so much effort in dragging him here, he might as well do that for him, he thought. He found it endearing that Jeongin cared so much about him. Sunwoo wasn’t used to that at all, but he also didn’t dislike it. It made him want to care for Jeongin too.

Sunwoo was just about to reach for something to drink when he suddenly cut his arm on one of the knives that were placed near the plates of meat. He flinched at the pain, the cut was pretty deep, and blood started to erupt from the wound. He should’ve known that the last week had been far too peaceful.

Jeongin gasped and reached for Sunwoo’s arm, but, to Jeongin’s surprise, the other pulled away. Sunwoo didn’t want Jeongin to get hurt as well. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d gotten somebody hurt like this. “Oh no, are you okay? That cut looks bad, we should go to Madame Pomfrey!” he exclaimed, already about to get up. “I-it’s fine, I’m used to it…”

Jeongin figured that Sunwoo just didn’t like to be touched. “Don’t be silly, Sunwoo, you need healing”, he insisted. “Healing doesn’t work well on me, it’s-”, Sunwoo interrupted himself when Jeongin pulled out his wand, pointed it at Sunwoo’s arm and closed his eyes in concentration. “Jeongin, I’m serious, this won’t-”, Sunwoo trailed off, unable to believe his eyes. His wound was actually starting to heal. The bleeding stopped, the cut slowly closed itself, and his arm went back to normal.

Madame Pomfrey had never been able to heal Sunwoo this quickly, no matter how small the wound was, which was why he had stopped going there sometime around his second year. Even some very powerful healers, whom Sunwoo had gone to in the past, had taken at least a few hours to heal a wound like that. Good magic had never worked well on Sunwoo before. Ever. And Jeongin had just healed him fully… in a few seconds.

Sunwoo’s jaw dropped as he inspected his now healed arm. Jeongin smiled happily. “There you go!” he said and put his wand back in his robes. Sunwoo was speechless. “I- How-”

Jeongin chuckled. “It’s no biggie, I’m really good with healing spells! I do have to say though; it has never worked _this_ quickly before… I guess I improved a bit”, he said proudly, oblivious to how impressive this actually was, considering Sunwoo’s circumstances. Jeongin also told Sunwoo about how he wanted to become a nurse after Hogwarts, and that he had been practicing healing spells ever since he was little because he loved helping people.

Sunwoo was sure of it now. There was definitely something different about Jeongin, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it just yet.

~

On Christmas Day, Jeongin woke up with a smile on his face as he checked the pile of presents from his friends and family next to his bed. He fought the urge to open all of them immediately when he remembered that he had made plans to meet with Sunwoo at breakfast, so he decided to just take them with him and open them in the Great Hall.

“Wow… that’s a lot of presents”, Sunwoo commented when Jeongin sat down across from him at the empty Slytherin table, setting down the large pile of presents. The other students were probably still asleep or had simply decided to stay in their common rooms for the morning. Jeongin just giggled excitedly in response. “Did you leave your presents at the dorm?” he asked. Sunwoo paused awkwardly. “I… usually don’t get presents for Christmas…” the older mumbled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Jeongin pouted at him. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Sunwoo, but… I already thought you might say that, so I prepared something for you!” he announced and set down a little box in front of Sunwoo, who now had a flustered expression on his face. He seemed to have successfully surprised the older.

“Y-You really didn’t have to do that, Jeongin, I’m fine!” Sunwoo said and was about to return the box to Jeongin, but the younger stopped him. “I know, but I wanted to! How could I not get you anything? Just take it”, Jeongin smiled. “But I didn’t get you anything…” Sunwoo replied, the feeling of guilt clear in his voice, but Jeongin simply waved off. “Here, I made some cookies too! Have some~” he cheered and placed a bowl full of self-made cookies on the table as well. Sunwoo finally gave him a small smile of gratitude and grabbed one of the star-shaped cookies. They were amazing, to say the least.

Jeongin then started working through his pile of presents, opening them one by one as Sunwoo watched him. He received a pair of new gloves for Quidditch from Jisung, an ‘I love Sydney’ pillow that Felix and Changbin sent from Australia, a self-knitted pair of warm and fluffy Hufflepuff socks from Woojin and Mina, autographs of his favorite Quidditch team from Chan and Minho, a book called ‘Transfigurations for Dummies’ from Hyunjin and Seungmin, a huge amount of cute Christmas cards with heartfelt greetings and wishes on them and a ton of chocolate. Woojin and Mina’s Christmas card came with a couple of cute pictures of them and the baby.

Sunwoo felt happy to see him receive so many heartfelt presents from his friends and family and he enjoyed watching his face light up every time he read out the Christmas cards to him. The last present Jeongin opened was the package from his family. He decided to read the card first.

_“Dear Jeongin_

_We hope you’re having a great time in Hogwarts, even though we miss you dearly. The cruise is beautiful and we’re enjoying our time here!_

_We really hope you and your friend eat well, sleep well and dress warmly in the cold English weather!_

_To make sure you don’t catch a cold, your mother made Christmas sweaters for you and your friend and she really hopes you like them! Wish him a Merry Christmas and don’t forget to bring him with you next time you come home!_

_Much love, Dad~_

Jeongin smiled at the letter and pulled out the two sweaters from the box that had come with it. Both had a classic Christmas pattern on them, but one of them was green and white like the Slytherin banner, and the other one was yellow and black like the Hufflepuff banner. “Aw, here’s the sweater my mom made for you!” Jeongin smiled, handing Sunwoo the green one. “F-for me? I can’t accept this, Jeongin…” Sunwoo said, not used to receiving any presents.

Jeongin looked up at Sunwoo and took his hands before he could pull them away. “Of course, you can. This is what Christmas is all about! Plus, you look way better in green than I would”, Jeongin laughed before looking down at Sunwoo’s hands. “But… your hands are so cold… Are you okay? Should we move closer to the fireplace?” he added, concerned.

It was true, Sunwoo’s hands were extremely cold. Sure, it was winter, and the weather was really cold outside, but they were inside and… Sunwoo’s hands felt even colder than the snow outside for some reason.

“N-no, I’m fine… I don’t think the fire would help…” Sunwoo replied and pulled back his hands before putting his gloves back on. Jeongin figured that he used them to keep his hands warm, but he still couldn’t help but worry about him. He contemplated asking Sunwoo about it, but the Slytherin already seemed a bit uncomfortable, so he decided not to ruin the Christmas mood.

“Okay, if you say so”, Jeongin replied, “Don’t you want to look at your present?” he switched subjects and smiled excitedly. Sunwoo sighed and gave the younger a look, probably still feeling guilty that he hadn’t gotten Jeongin anything, but hesitantly opened the box in front of him anyway.

Inside was a large book. It was much larger than the box itself actually, so Sunwoo figured that Jeongin had used some magic to make it work anyway. After examining it more closely, he realized that it was an advanced book about Defense Against the Dark Arts with contents that they didn’t even teach in Hogwarts. Sunwoo’s eyes lit up. “Jeongin… thank you so much…” Sunwoo said, shocked and close to speechlessness.

Jeongin just gave him a wide smile, happy with Sunwoo’s reaction. There was also some chocolate and a letter inside the small box. When Sunwoo attempted to open the letter, Jeongin put his hand on it to prevent him from doing so, his face turning a bit red. “Don’t read it now, that’s too embarrassing!” he exclaimed and Sunwoo just nodded awkwardly, putting the letter back into the box.

The two of them talked some more and decided to change into their Christmas sweaters before heading to the library, since Sunwoo wanted to start reading his book and Jeongin felt inspired to start practicing a bit with his new ‘Transfigurations for Dummies’ book, occasionally asking the Slytherin for advice because they didn’t really have anything else to do.

~

When Sunwoo got back to his empty dorm he washed up and sat down on his bed, holding Jeongin’s unopened Christmas letter in his hands. He felt nervous. He had never received a Christmas letter like this from anyone but his sister. He didn’t even know the content of the letter yet, but he already felt so grateful that Jeongin had even bothered to write one for him.

He smiled at the pretty handwriting on the envelope spelling out his name, before he finally opened it and pulled out a neatly folded piece of parchment.

_Dear Sunwoo_

_I couldn’t bear the thought of you not getting anything for Christmas, so I just had to do this. I really hope you don’t mind T.T_

_I’ve never stayed in Hogwarts over Christmas vacation before and I’m excited to experience what the castle will be like when most of the students are gone~ I hope that we’ll find something to do. I think you’re a nice guy and I hope we can become close friends over the holidays!_

_I remembered you saying that you like to do self-studying and I figured that you were interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, so I got you that large book and I really hope you enjoy reading it! I also hope you like that type of chocolate~_

_Merry Christmas_

_Jeongin_

~

Despite Christmas break, Jeongin still agreed to a tutoring session with Jinyoung after Christmas. He knew he needed it and he was actually glad that the older had stayed in the castle. Maybe he would even get to use his ‘Transfigurations for Dummies’ book since it did have a lot of helpful tips in it.

Jeongin greeted the Ravenclaw with a big smile when he entered the library. “Hey, Jinyoung. How was your Christmas?” he questioned cheerfully. “Uneventful, yet eye-opening...”, Jinyoung answered. The Hufflepuff chuckled and gave him a questioning look, causing Jinyoung to give him a small smile and wave off.

“Let’s just say it was good. How about you?” he asked. Jeongin’s smile returned to his face. “It was great. It was my first Christmas here, but I had a really great time!” he answered. Jinyoung returned the smile. “That’s great to hear. Now, shall we get started on Transfigurations?”

Jeongin pouted a little but got out his book nonetheless...

~

The rest of the two weeks practically flew by as Jeongin and Sunwoo spent almost every day together, just talking and getting to know each other. One day, however, Jeongin couldn’t find him anywhere. He had checked all of their favorite hangout spots, the Great Hall, the Owlery… He had even asked another Slytherin to check if Sunwoo was in the common room.

Eventually, he decided to go outside for a while, even though it was incredibly cold there. It looked pretty; the castle all covered in snow, the frozen lake down by the boathouse, and even the forbidden forest. The young Hufflepuff decided to go take a closer look, since he was outside anyway and didn’t know what to do, now that Sunwoo was nowhere to be found.

Halfway down to the lake, he almost regretted his decision because of how cold it was, and was about to return to the castle when he spotted a figure sitting in the snow near the lake. Jeongin took a few steps closer and realized that it was Sunwoo. But what was he doing out there when it was freezing cold?

Jeongin approached him and sat down next to him on the small blanket Sunwoo had probably summoned. Sunwoo’s eyes widened a bit when he noticed him. “You startled me…”, he said. “What are you doing out here when it’s this cold?”, he added, looking back at the lake.

Jeongin chuckled. “That’s what I should be asking you. You’re literally sitting in the snow! Aren’t you cold…?” he replied. Sunwoo shrugged wordlessly, before looking down to the ground in front of him. A few seconds of silence passed before he answered.

“I don’t… feel temperatures”, he said eventually, causing Jeongin to look at him. “Really?” he asked, earning a nod from Sunwoo. “Well… if you don’t feel temperatures why are you always… wearing gloves?” he asked carefully. Sunwoo looked at his gloved hands before hiding them under his cloak. “That’s... um, complicated...”, he stammered. “But-”

“You should go back to the castle, you’re going to catch a cold if you stay here…” Sunwoo stated, interrupting Jeongin. He didn’t want Jeongin to be near him. He didn’t want him to get hurt because of him. And at the same time… his company made him forget all about it. It made him forget that he couldn’t get closer to him, that he should stay away from him. From everyone.

Jeongin ignored his statement and took a closer look at him instead. “Did something happen?” he asked. “You look so sad…” Sunwoo pulled his hands out of his cloak pockets and Jeongin noticed him clutching something that seemed like a piece of parchment in his balled fist. He figured that it was a letter.

Sunwoo closed his eyes, reminded of the harsh words his parents had said to him just a few hours ago. How much it hurt him. How little they cared about him because of something that wasn’t his fault, something he couldn’t control. Sunwoo didn’t even notice the tear escaping his eye. “My parents, they…” he didn’t get to finish his sentence without his voice cracking. He didn’t want to cry in front of other people. Especially not in front of Jeongin.

Jeongin looked at him. He didn’t have to hear the details to know that his parents had treated him badly in some way again. The Hufflepuff was now crying himself. He couldn’t find the right words to say so, instead, he just hugged Sunwoo wordlessly. Sunwoo froze at first, not used to the feeling of somebody being this close to him, but eventually hugged him back, silently letting out the tears he’d been holding back.

He could hear Jeongin’s quiet sobs next to his ear, take in his soft scent, feel Jeongin’s arms wrapped around him, his warm breath against his neck and the warmth of his cheek pressed against his own. Wait. He felt… his warmth? But he didn’t usually feel temperatures. He never did.

It was a completely new feeling to him, but he liked it. It felt nice and comforting, and it calmed him. It made him forget about all these bad things he experienced almost every day, like his circumstances didn’t even matter. Sunwoo hugged him a bit tighter.

After a few more seconds, Jeongin let go of Sunwoo and wiped his own tears. His nose and fingers looked red from the cold, but he smiled, nonetheless. “Are you feeling a bit better? My mom says a warm hug says more than approximately 20 words”, he said. It was such a silly joke that it made Sunwoo smile a bit, causing Jeongin to point at him.

“Oh! You smiled! I’ve never seen you smile before!” he exclaimed. Sunwoo’s smile dropped. “I… don't usually smile a lot…” he mumbled. “You should. It’s cute! And you know what you also should? You should go to Hogsmeade with me”, Jeongin said smoothly, smiling widely.

“Hogsmeade? I’m not sure… I never go there”, Sunwoo replied. “Then it’s about time! Go there with me tomorrow!” Jeongin requested and eventually convinced Sunwoo to agree to go to Hogsmeade with him. “Fine”, Sunwoo said, “but for now, we should go back to the castle before you really do get sick.”

~

So, the next day, they put on their warm clothing, met up in the entrance hall and went to Hogsmeade, where Jeongin showed Sunwoo his favorite places. Sunwoo enjoyed it, the way Jeongin excitedly took him from one place to another, happily telling him stories about memories he’d made there with his friends. They would’ve explored the stores too but most of them were closed during the holidays, so they just aimlessly walked through the decorated streets.

Sunwoo didn’t feel the cold but he noticed that Jeongin kept rubbing his hands together, trying to warm them. He stopped to take Jeongin’s hands and put them in the pockets of his warm jacket. Jeongin looked at him in surprise before blushing the slightest bit. “O-Oh… um, I’m sorry, you don’t like to be touched-”, he said before trying to pull his hands out of Sunwoo’s pockets again.

 Sunwoo held on to them, however. “N-No, it’s not that I… um… -your hands are really cold, so I just figured…” Sunwoo stammered awkwardly. Jeongin just smiled at him. “Oh, thank you”, he said before pressing a quick kiss onto Sunwoo’s cheek. He was startled at first when he felt that warmth again and lifted one of his hands to touch his own cheek. Why was he able to feel things like warmth all of a sudden? He didn’t mind, not at all, but he also couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Jeongin blushed and giggled. “Sorry, it’s what I do!” Sunwoo looked away in embarrassment. “Oh, you’re not wearing your gloves today”, Jeongin pointed out. “Yeah, I didn’t feel like it today. Are my hands too cold?” he asked. “No, they’re not that cold. Plus, your pockets are really warm~” Jeongin smiled. Sunwoo’s heartbeat sped up when he looked at Jeongin’s cute smile, so he quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“You get cold so quickly, why didn’t you put on your Hufflepuff scarf!” he scolded, still holding Jeongin’s warm hands in his pockets. “I wanted to! But I think I lost it somewhere…” Jeongin pouted, earning a sigh from Sunwoo.

It had already gotten dark and there was nothing left to do in Hogsmeade, so they decided to head back to the castle. After arriving in the dungeons, Jeongin was about to say goodbye to Sunwoo, when the Slytherin told him to wait there for a few minutes before walking towards the Slytherin common room. Jeongin didn’t have to wait long for Sunwoo to return, a green scarf in his hands.

“Here, use this one until you find your own”, Sunwoo said, already putting the scarf around Jeongin’s neck. “But that’s yours!” Jeongin argued, pouting. “T-Thanks but won’t you get cold?” he questioned. “I told you already, I don’t get cold. You need it more than me”, Sunwoo decided.

Jeongin smiled. “Well, thank you! I’ll give it back to you once I find my own”, he promised and Sunwoo also gave him a small smile. “…There’s your smile again” the Hufflepuff cheered, causing the other to blush a little before turning around to go back to his common room.

Sunwoo didn’t really let people see it, but Jeongin knew that he was actually really caring.

~

Sunwoo smiled to himself when he entered his empty dorm room and let himself plop down on his bed. He was always cautious around others and felt awkward about talking to anyone when spending time with people, but it was different with Jeongin. It was so easy to talk to Jeongin and he felt like he didn’t have to be scared anymore, like his circumstances didn’t matter.

They did matter, but Jeongin was the only person who made him forget about them completely, even if it was only temporarily.

~

The castle slowly but surely regained its population when Christmas vacation came to an end, and everyone’s schedules returned to normal. Jeongin already missed the atmosphere of the empty castle, but at the same time, he was glad to see his friends and dormmates again and ask them all about how they spent their Christmas.

“How about your Christmas, Jeongin? Didn’t you end up staying at Hogwarts? What did you do all day?” Kangmin asked as he joined him by the fireplace in the Hufflepuff common room. Jeongin blushed a bit when he realized that he had spent pretty much every day with Sunwoo. “I spent time with other students who stayed here… especially Kim Sunwoo”, he replied, smiling at the memory. Kangmin froze and his eyes widened at Jeongin’s words. “K-Kim Sunwoo?”

“Yeah, he’s so nice!”, Jeongin replied cheerfully. Kangmin’s eyes widened even more. “I can’t believe you’re hanging out with him after I warned you”, he said, shaking his head. Jeongin was about to say something, when some other Hufflepuffs, among them Guanlin, interrupted them and invited them to go to Hogsmeade together. Kangmin and Jeongin agreed, put on their warm clothes, since it was still snowing outside, and made their way to Hogsmeade.

On the way there, the group of students cheerfully talked more about their holidays as they walked through the snow. Some other fifth-years from different houses had joined them on the way and they had a great time reuniting.

The air was stingingly cold, causing Jeongin’s cheeks, nose and ears to turn red very quickly, so he fell behind a bit, pulled out the scarf Sunwoo had given him and put it on. He smiled to himself, thankful that he remembered to bring it. It still smelled like the older and successfully warmed Jeongin’s face. Much better.

The Hufflepuff caught up with the group again, and Kangmin turned around to him, furrowing his eyebrows at the Slytherin scarf around Jeongin’s neck. “A Slytherin scarf? Last time I checked, you were in Hufflepuff”, he half-joked. The other students seemed curious about it too. Jeongin giggled and looked down at the green scarf.

“I couldn’t find my Hufflepuff scarf a few days ago, so Sunwoo lent me his Slytherin one until I find it again. He said he doesn’t mind the cold and that I need it more than he does. See, Kangmin? I told you that he’s really nice!” Jeongin explained happily but the other fifth-years exchanged looks and whispered to each other. “Jeongin…” one of them started, giving him a concerned look.

“Jeongin, you probably shouldn’t wear that… Kim Sunwoo is bad news…” another student said, and the others nodded in agreement. “Didn’t he already get you hurt during that Quidditch match a while ago…?”, a third student added. Jeongin rolled his eyes. “He apologized! It was an accident!”

Kangmin gave him an even more concerned look. “Is that what he told you? Oh, Jeongin… You really need to be cautious of that guy… What if he cursed that scarf? He probably stole your Hufflepuff scarf beforehand, so he could give you his cursed one…” he speculated as some of the others gasped in shock and exchanged looks. “He’s a thief now, too? I can’t believe him…” “I heard that his grandparents were Death Eaters...”, another one mumbled. “Yeah, and I heard that he experiments with dark magic on animals in the forbidden forest!” “Really?! Oh my god. How scary!”

Jeongin scoffed in disbelief. “He would never do any of that! You guys don’t even know him!” he exclaimed, and the group just took a step away from him, singling him out. “That’s probably the curse talking…” one of them muttered in a scared tone. “I’ve heard enough about him to know this much… The curse he put on the scarf probably makes you like him or something… what a weirdo…”

Jeongin couldn’t believe them. How could they talk like this about someone they had probably never even talked to before? He took one last look at them, shaking his head before turning around to head back to the castle. Was this why people avoided Sunwoo? Because of some crazy rumors that weren’t even true? Jeongin was close to tears. This was just so unfair. If only people took the time to get to know Sunwoo, they would realize that he wasn’t like that.

When Jeongin arrived back at the castle, he let out a deep sigh and headed back to his common room to change out of his now snow-covered clothes. He then decided to check the Great Hall to see if any of his other friends were there and could help him get his mind off things. He found Daehwi there, sitting at the Gryffindor table, reading a book by himself.

“Hi, Daehwi!” he greeted the slightly older. Daehwi looked up from his book, his face brightening up at the sight of Jeongin. “Jeongin, hey! Weren’t you heading to Hogsmeade just ten minutes ago?” he replied. “I was but I… changed my mind”, Jeongin stated, thinking back to his ‘friends’ talking trash about Sunwoo. He shook the thought out of his head “I’d much rather hang out with you, Daehwi!” he smiled cheerfully.

The Gryffindor blushed. “O-oh, thanks”, he stammered and nervously took a sip of his juice. “Anyway, what are you reading?” Jeongin asked, gesturing towards the book in front of Daehwi. “Ah, just something about Divination. It looked interesting when I saw it in the library but it’s actually pretty boring”, he chuckled.

Daehwi then tried to pour himself some tea but as he set the kettle back down, his sleeve ended up getting caught in his cup somehow, spilling the hot tea all over Jeongin’s hand.

 “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Jeongin!” Daehwi apologized, quickly pouring some cold water over a tissue he summoned and wrapping in around Jeongin’s hand for a few seconds and pulling out a small bandage to put on Jeongin’s hand before he could even say anything. “Don’t worry about it, it’ll heal in no time”, Jeongin said and chuckled at the apologetic expression on the Gryffindor’s face. He watched as Daehwi skillfully wrapped the bandage around his hand and gave him a smile once he finished.

“Thanks for always looking out for me, Daehwi”, he said and fondly squeezed the Gryffindor’s hand. Daehwi looked down on Jeongin’s hand on his as his cheeks heated up. “D-don’t mention it…” he smiled.

A few seconds of silence passed as Daehwi blushed even more and looked like he wanted to say something important but was still contemplating whether it was a good idea or not. “What is it, Daehwi?” Jeongin asked.

The Gryffindor nervously bit his lip. “Actually, I… wanted to t-tell you something…” he stated, avoiding Jeongin’s eyes. “Do you remember… the Halloween party?” he asked carefully. “Of course”, Jeongin replied.

“The guy who kissed you there was me”, Daehwi admitted.

Jeongin’s jaw dropped. “What, w-why?” he exclaimed. Daehwi blushed hard and took a deep breath before opening his mouth to respond: “Because I like you. In fact, I’ve been in love with you since second grade!” Jeongin didn’t know what to say. His best friend was in love with him? He didn’t expect that at all. “Daehwi, I-”

“You don’t have to give me an answer... j-just maybe think about it, okay?” With that, his best friend got up and stormed out of the Great Hall, his face still beet red. Jeongin stared after him, still in disbelief. How could he not have noticed that his best friend had feelings for him?

Another thought crossed Jeongin’s mind as he got up from his seat to head to the Hufflepuff common room in order to fetch his Transfigurations book before he made his way to his tutoring session with Jinyoung. Had Daehwi also been the one who’d left him all those cute love notes? It would make sense since it obviously hadn’t been Lucas.

Now that he thought about it, he realized that Daehwi had always been there for him when he needed him; he had always been a shoulder to cry on and he’d known him ever since he came to Hogwarts. But did Jeongin have romantic feelings for him?

On the way to the library, he noticed how a couple of students were staring at him and whispering to each other as he walked past. Jeongin furrowed his brows and gave them a confused look, but most of them skedaddled as soon as he met their eyes.

_‘Oh my god, it’s true…’_

_‘He’s really wearing it’_

_‘Kim Sunwoo cursed his scarf’_

_‘That’s him… the target… poor guy…’_

_‘Don’t look at it for too long or you’ll have bad luck for a week. Or even worse… you’ll be the next target…!’_

Jeongin ignored their terrified expressions and continued to make his way to the library, scoffing in disbelief. Rumors really did spread like a wildfire in this castle. He hoped that those rumors would die down before they reached Sunwoo’s ears…

~

“Jeongin, are you listening?” Jinyoung asked with a concerned expression on his face. The Hufflepuff snapped out of his thoughts, Daehwi’s confession still fresh on his mind. “Sorry, I kind of zoned out”, he apologized with an awkward chuckle. “Can you repeat that?”

Jinyoung chuckled and repeated his sentence about transforming paper into flying origami. Jeongin tried to transform a piece of paper into a bird. Unfortunately, it ended up looking more like a duck. He pouted. “I can’t do this...”, he complained. Jinyoung squeezed his hand reassuringly before showing him the charm multiple times until Jeongin managed to make it look like a bird. Now the only problem left was to make it fly.

“Here, I’ll show you again...” Jinyoung grabbed a new piece of paper from his bag, scribbled something on it, transformed it into a bird and let it fly towards Jeongin. The younger snatched the bird out of the air to prevent it from disturbing anyone and unfolded it. The type of paper looked kind of familiar.

 _‘I like you’,_ it read.

Jeongin’s eyes widened in realization. That handwriting... the paper. He looked up at Jinyoung. “The love notes...were they from you? Was it you all along? Are you my secret admirer?” he asked, shocked. Jinyoung avoided his eyes and nodded shyly. Before Jeongin could say anything else, the Ravenclaw scrambled his books into his bag, mumbling, “just… t-think about it”, before practically running out of the library.

Jeongin ruffled his hair in and let out a sigh. Did he really just receive his second confession of the day? He couldn’t believe that the cute love notes he had been receiving for about a month now had been from Jinyoung all along. His tutor was his secret admirer. He genuinely had no idea this whole time.

He felt flattered and a bit overwhelmed too… First Daehwi and now Jinyoung too? What was he going to do about this situation…?

Still baffled, Jeongin gathered his books and left the library to head back to his common room. He needed some time to think about things. How did he feel about Daehwi and how did he feel about Jinyoung? He would have to give both of them a response soon, since making them wait would only make this situation even more complicated…

As Jeongin made his way out of the main building and crossed the viaduct in order to get to his destination, he looked to his side and noticed someone’s presence. It was none other than Sunwoo, sitting on the ledge and facing the horizon with his legs dangling towards the void below. He seemed unbothered by the dangerous position he was in but Jeongin gasped in shock, leaped towards him and grabbed his arm, in an attempt to pull him off the edge.

“Oh my god, Sunwoo! That’s dangerous, get off there!” he panicked. Sunwoo turned to him and quickly slid off the edge to stand in front of Jeongin. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…” he responded in surprise, giving the other an apologetic look. He obviously hadn’t expected Jeongin to pass by there.

“I thought you were gonna fall off…” Jeongin said, clutching his heart and trying to calm down from this panic moment. He noticed that Sunwoo looked pretty down again. Maybe he’d heard about those rumors? Jeongin really hoped he hadn’t.

“Please don’t be so reckless, you’re making me worry!” Jeongin added as he examined Sunwoo for any injuries. “Sorry”, the older repeated quietly. That’s when he noticed the bandage on Jeongin’s hand. “What’s that? Did you get hurt?” he asked in a concerned tone. Jeongin waved off, “It’s nothing, just a little burn.”

Sunwoo came closer and took Jeongin’s hand to carefully take a closer look at it. “And you say  _I’m_  worrying  _you_ …” he replied before concluding that Jeongin had probably gotten hurt because of how energetic he was most of the time. He didn’t let go of the younger’s hand, however.

Sunwoo still didn’t understand how it was possible for him to feel warm all of a sudden. On top of that, it only ever happened when he was with Jeongin. But he liked the feeling of Jeongin’s warm hand in his cold one. “You always do, though… I worry about you all the time”, Jeongin replied.

“That’s what I like about you”, Sunwoo confessed without thinking before his eyes widened in realization. “No, wait...I-I didn’t mean...um...” he stammered as his face turned as red as Jeongin’s. The Hufflepuff felt his heartbeat pick up. “What are you saying?” he asked, meeting Sunwoo’s eyes.

Their eye-contact lasted for a few seconds as Sunwoo tried to come up with the right words to say and Jeongin anxiously waited for his reply. Sunwoo eventually decided to just not say anything and instead put his hands on Jeongin’s flushed cheeks, closed his eyes and pressed his lips against his.

The warmth he used to only feel on his skin whenever he touched Jeongin now spread through his body, warming him from the inside. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but it left such an amazing impact on Sunwoo. Yes, he liked Jeongin. A lot. His cute smile, his laugh, his scent, his clumsiness, his kindness, his energy, his positivity… everything about him. He had finally realized that he did after Jeongin had hugged and comforted him at the lake; when he had felt his warmth for the first time.

No one had ever cared about Sunwoo as much as Jeongin did despite all those rumors about him, and he didn’t care if it was just the way Jeongin treated everyone around him. He had never felt like that about anyone or anything before and he wanted that feeling of warmth and safety to last forever. He wanted to protect Jeongin and keep him safe by his side.

When Sunwoo pulled away and looked at him however, he felt embarrassed and anxious about Jeongin’s reaction to his sudden and wordless confession. Jeongin seemed speechless and just looked up at Sunwoo. The Slytherin took it as a bad sign and just escaped the scene, running toward the castle and leaving a flustered Jeongin behind.

Jeongin didn’t know what to say or what to do with himself when he looked after him and moved his hand to touch his lips.

This entire day must’ve been a weird fever dream or something. The fact that three of his friends had confessed to him on the same day was just too surreal. What was he going to tell them? And more importantly… who was he going to ‘choose’?

~

Sunwoo was lying in his bed, looking up at the ceiling and trying to calm his heartbeat. His cheeks still felt hot and he questioned his entire existence. Why the hell did he do that? He’d told himself to stay away from Jeongin so many times and instead, he had possibly ruined whatever relationship they had.

He ran a hand through his hair and rolled around in his bed. He must have gone insane. What the hell had gotten into him? How could he just randomly kiss him without any permission, explanation or context? What if Jeongin hated him now? What if he avoided him now, just like all the other students? Sunwoo didn’t even want to imagine that.

Then again… it was probably the best for Jeongin. He would be better off staying away from Sunwoo… At least he would be safe.

~

The next day at breakfast, Jeongin’s mind was still so occupied by the three confessions he had received the day before, that he almost didn’t notice Hyunjin joining him at the Hufflepuff table. “What’s on your mind, Jeongin? You look preoccupied” he questioned with a chuckle as he poured some milk over his cereal. Jeongin looked at him and sighed. “It’s just… no, never mind. Where’s Seungmin? Aren’t you two always together?” Jeongin replied.

“He’s at the library, studying for midterms. He sent me here because I’m ‘too distracting’” Hyunjin explained with a pout. “But don’t try to change the subject! What’s wrong?” he added. Jeongin let a hand run through his hair in frustration. “I’m conflicted. Three of my friends confessed to me yesterday…”

Hyunjin choked on his cereal. “Three? Wow, my little brother from another mother got game!” he applauded. “Not funny! I don’t know what to do… because…I don’t know how I actually feel about them”, Jeongin whined, “Help me, Hyunjin!”

The Slytherin set down his orange juice and gave Jeongin a soft smile. “Well, tell me about them. You don’t have to say who it is if you don’t want to”, he suggested.

Jeongin took a deep breath and decided to go along with it. “One of them is a friend I’ve known for a long time. I didn’t even know he had feelings for me because I never really looked at him like that. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy and he’s always there for me whenever I need him. But… I don’t think I like him romantically”, he explained, causing Hyunjin to nod as if he was mentally taking notes before he gestured for Jeongin to continue.  

“I’m not as close to the second one, he’s more of a secret admirer. He helped me with some school stuff, and he wrote really sweet love notes to me for about a month. He’s very nice and I’m thankful that he’s been helping me so much, but I don’t really know him that well…” Jeongin elaborated as Hyunjin continued to listen closely with a thoughtful expression on his face. “And what about the third one?”

“The last one…” Jeongin started but trailed off, blushing and unable to hide a smile. “He’s kind of mysterious… there are many things I don’t understand about him, but he’s really cute and sweet at the same time. A lot of people don’t like him, but I think he’s just very lonely and misunderstood. I like spending time with him and I want to get to know more about him. And… he actually kissed me…”

Jeongin mumbled that last part but Hyunjin smirked knowingly. “What do I do?” the younger whined once more and buried his face in his hands. “Listen, Jeongin. You don’t need to choose anyone if you don’t have feelings for them. Just don’t lead them on”, Hyunjin advised. “And also, I think deep down, you already know who you want to go for…” he winked and chuckled when Jeongin blushed even more. “I’ll have to think about it… but thanks, Hyunjin!” Jeongin smiled and got up from his seat to head to his first class.

Obviously, his attempt to focus on the lesson failed miserably. It was the same for the rest of the day as well. Even in the evening, when he was sitting in the Hufflepuff common room, already about to go to bed early to give his mind a break, he couldn’t think about anything else. How was he supposed to fall asleep that night when his mind kept wandering to Daehwi’s nervous expression when he confessed to him, to Jinyoung’s flushed face when he hurried out of the library and lastly… to the feeling of Sunwoo’s lips on his.

Jeongin once again turned beet red and touched his own lips when he remembered the moment. The way Sunwoo had just cupped the youngers cheeks and kissed him without any warning, the way he had gotten shy about it and ran off, the way he had taken care of Jeongin by giving him his scarf and by trying to warm his hands in the pockets of his jacket when they were in Hogsmeade, the way he had hugged Jeongin tightly and cried on his shoulder by the lake…

Jeongin wanted to know more about Sunwoo. He wanted to know why he was so careful with him, why he was so mysterious and what he saw Jeongin as. He had never wondered about anyone this much before and it was driving him crazy.

That was it. Jeongin got up from the couch by the fireplace in the Hufflepuff common room, grabbed his jacket and Sunwoo’s Slytherin scarf before making his way out of the common room. The answer had been clear to him all along. All he had to do was grow a pair and tell Sunwoo. The sooner the better, before he changed his mind and chickened out.

It didn’t take him long to get to the Slytherin common room, both common rooms were in the dungeons after all. He took a deep breath as he watched a couple of Slytherins leave their common room. They seemed like second or third-year students. After a few more seconds, another Slytherin turned the corner. To Jeongin’s knowledge, he was Heo Hyunjoon and he was in Sunwoo’s and Hyunjin’s year.

“Um…hi! You’re Hyunjoon, right?” Jeongin asked after approaching the older boy. Hyunjoon looked a bit confused but nodded. “Do you perhaps know if Kim Sunwoo is in his dorm?” the younger continued.

“Probably. He’s in the dorm most of the time”, Hyunjoon shrugged and the Hufflepuff smiled triumphantly. “Could you tell him to come to the Stone Circle? I… have something to tell him…” Jeongin requested. “Sure.”

“Thank you so much!” Jeongin cheered before hurrying out of the dungeons, through the Entrance Hall and over the Courtyard towards the Stone Circle. It was already pretty late so, of course, it was dark outside and the only light source that lit up the area was the moonlight. The sky was clear and showed millions of beautiful stars.

Jeongin decided to take a seat on one of the stone benches and waited for a few minutes. He regretted his choice to meet Sunwoo outside since it was very cold. It was January after all. He ended up burying his face in the green scarf he had brought along as he felt his heartbeat pick up in nervousness. What if Sunwoo had changed his mind about him? What if he didn’t show up for some reason? And even if he did show up, how was Jeongin going to tell him about his feelings without making a complete fool of himself?

He didn’t get to think about that more because, after a few more minutes, he already heard quick footsteps come closer and closer until an exhausted Sunwoo appeared in front of him. The older looked relieved when his eyes met the younger, his chest rapidly rising and sinking and his breath visible in the cold night air. He must’ve run all the way out here.

“You’re really here…” he panted as he came to a halt in front of Jeongin, who got to his feet. “…Sorry for making you wait… I got here as soon as I heard”, Sunwoo breathed, earning a smile from the younger. “Don’t worry, I just got here myself”, the Hufflepuff reassured him.

There were a few seconds of silence between the two. They just looked at each other until Sunwoo cleared his throat awkwardly. “S-so, about yesterday… I…”, Sunwoo’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he trailed off. Jeongin wanted to explain why he had called Sunwoo out here like that, tell him what he wanted to let him know so bad, but he didn’t really know how to start. Meanwhile, the older seemed to assume that Jeongin was going to shut him down and started to ramble out apologies to prevent Jeongin from rejecting him.

“I-I’m sorry for… doing that so suddenly… I swear, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I don’t know why I did that either - I mean I do know why I did it - but… like… I totally get it if you hate me now. I shouldn’t have done it and I’m-”, Sunwoo rambled on and Jeongin had to hold back a chuckle at how cute and flustered he was before stepping closer to him in a rush of confidence.

Before Sunwoo could truly process what he was doing, Jeongin wrapped his arms around him and softly pressed his lips against Sunwoo’s for a brief second, successfully interrupting his rambling. Sunwoo didn’t know what to say and just looked at Jeongin in surprise. “I didn’t call you out here to reject you. I actually just wanted to tell you that I like you, Sunwoo”, Jeongin smiled, his arms still wrapped around him.

Sunwoo’s eyes widened. “Y-you like me?” he asked, earning a nod from Jeongin. “B-but why would you like someone like me? All I did was hurt you and be an unlucky charm to you. Most of the people in this castle hate me or are scared of me. They’ve even started to badmouth you and avoid you ever since you’ve started to wear my scarf. It-it’s not good for you to be near someone like me-”

Jeongin interrupted him with another quick kiss. “I don’t care about any of that. I don’t care what they say about you or me. I still like you, Sunwoo… And I…”, he blushed deeply, “I want you to be my boyfriend!”

Sunwoo seemed speechless once again. He couldn’t believe his ears. Jeongin actually liked him back? Could he really try to be with him? His reasonable side said no. No, he couldn’t be with him. It would be too dangerous for him. Sunwoo didn’t deserve him and Jeongin would only get hurt because of him. But his heart screamed yes. His heart wanted to be with Jeongin, to protect him. He felt like everything would be alright if he just had Jeongin by his side. And his heart was stronger than his mind at that moment.

He leaned forward and reconnected their lips once more, for a little bit longer this time. “I like you too, Yang Jeongin”, he said after he let go of him again and pulled the younger into a hug. He felt the now familiar feeling of warmth again and hugged Jeongin a bit tighter, unable to hide his smile now. “You’re the only one who can make me feel warm like this…”, Sunwoo added and closed his eyes. The two of them remained in that position for what felt like minutes, without words, just enjoying the feeling of being close to each other.

Eventually, Sunwoo pulled away from Jeongin, still smiling, and placed a kiss on his forehead. “You should return to your common room. It’s cold out here, you’ll catch a cold if we stay any longer”, he said. Jeongin pouted but ended up agreeing with Sunwoo. So, the two of them returned to the castle, their hands intertwined as they climbed down the stairs to the dungeons. Sunwoo walked Jeongin to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room before wishing him a good night, giving him one last smile and then returned to his own dorm, leaving the younger behind with a giddy feeling.

~

The next morning, Jeongin woke up with the brightest smile on his face. Although he wasn’t one hundred percent sure if yesterday’s events had been a part of his dream last night, he sure hoped that they weren’t. He stretched, got up from his bed, washed up and made his way out of the dungeon, ready for breakfast.

The fact that he randomly broke out into giggles from time to time and smiled like an idiot didn’t really help to stop those rumors about him being cursed, but he really couldn’t care less about that. When he entered the Great Hall, his eyes skimmed the Slytherin table, trying to find Sunwoo, who didn’t seem to be there yet. Jeongin felt a bit disappointed but decided to just wait for him instead.

He took a seat at the Slytherin table, feeling himself grow kind of nervous. He couldn’t help but wonder about what he was going to say to Sunwoo once he saw him. He could officially call him his boyfriend now, right? His cheeks flared up at the thought. Jeongin had never had a boyfriend – or girlfriend – before, so this whole dating thing was pretty new to him. He didn’t really know what to do as a boyfriend. Had Sunwoo ever dated anyone before? What if Jeongin turned out to be the worst boyfriend ever!? More and more worries started to pop up in his head, making him even more nervous. He’d almost finished his breakfast when a familiar voice ripped him out of his thoughts.

“Jeongin, hi, I was just about to look for you at the Hufflepuff table”, Sunwoo greeted him, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck as he took a seat across from him. “Sunwoo, hey”, Jeongin smiled at the older, all the worries from just a few minutes ago pretty much gone. The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds, unsure what to say, until they both had to chuckle at each other’s awkwardness.

They decided to focus on their breakfast, finishing it in comfortable silence. “So, um…”, Sunwoo spoke up after a while, “do you... want to do something… later…with me?” he asked, awkwardly scratching the back of his head again as it seemed to be a cute habit of his.

"Of course, I'd love to!" Jeongin replied, smiling excitedly. "What do you want to do?" he added. Sunwoo hummed in thought. “I don’t have anything particular in mind. Anything you want to do is fine with me”, he decided with a smile.

“Well, I haven’t been to the owlery in a while and I still have this letter to send to my parents, so why don’t we go there?” Jeongin suggested after thinking for a while. “Sounds good”, Sunwoo replied and the two students got ready to leave the Great Hall together.

While walking through the Entrance Hall and crossing the empty courtyard, Sunwoo let his hand move closer to Jeongin's and - sort of awkwardly - took it in his. Jeongin's hand felt really warm in his extraordinarily cold one and Sunwoo couldn't help but wonder if it made the younger uncomfortable.

He was already contemplating whether he should just pull away again when Jeongin intertwined their fingers and smiled up at him, his cheeks turning pink. Sunwoo relaxed a bit and returned a shy smile before looking away in embarrassment.

They quietly made their way to the Owlery and it only took them a couple of minutes to get there. The weather was pretty nice for a day in mid-January. The air was cold, but the sky was almost clear with just a couple of small white clouds hovering over the castle, letting the winter sun brighten up the snow-covered fields.

After climbing up the stairs and entering the structure, Jeongin quickly picked one of the owls and tied his mail to its feet before sending it off. Sunwoo watched as the younger turned away from the window and toward him.

“What now?” Sunwoo asked, smiling down at his boyfriend. _Boyfriend._ He really liked the thought of calling him that in his mind from now on. “Have you ever been to the roof?” Jeongin asked. “The roof of the Owlery? I didn’t even know you could go up there”, the Slytherin admitted.

“Well, it’s not allowed... But the view is amazing up there, you have to see it!” Jeongin exclaimed excitedly, already reaching for Sunwoo’s hand to lead him up the stairs. Sunwoo had no choice but to follow the younger as the climbed up the stone stairs of the Owlery.

Jeongin didn’t lie when he said that the view was amazing. Sunwoo couldn’t help but smile as his eyes scanned their surroundings. The winter sun lowly hanging above the castle and painting the sky in beautiful red and orange shades was just too pretty.

Jeongin let go of Sunwoo’s hand to excitedly skip toward the railing. “Be careful with the railing, I can’t have you fall down there”, Sunwoo told the younger, before following him with a smile. “Says the guy who casually let his legs dangle off the viaduct”, Jeongin teased as he watched the older, who now raised his hands in defeat, make his way over to him.

Jeongin chuckled and went back to admiring the beautiful view in front of them. Sunwoo did the same for a few seconds until his eyes got distracted by the boy next to him, who seemed much more interesting than the sky or the castle. He couldn’t help but stare at the bright smile on Jeongin’s face and the sparkle it caused in his eyes. Sunwoo could also see Jeongin’s breath in the cold air, making him realize how cold the air must be up on the roof.

Sunwoo’s eyes moved on to the green scarf around Jeongin’s neck. The younger had put it on when the two of them had left the castle earlier. Sunwoo smiled to himself, glad that he’d at least given him his scarf to keep him warm. It looked ten times better on Jeongin anyway.

“Will I ever get my scarf back?” he joked, still not taking his eyes off Jeongin for even a second. The Hufflepuff chuckled. “Probably not”, he replied before turning to face Sunwoo properly. His nose and cheeks had turned red from the cold as well.

Sunwoo wondered what the cold air really felt like, wondered what it would be like to be warm like Jeongin. He really wished he could give his boyfriend a warm hug and protect him from the cold like a normal boyfriend could.

Suddenly the sky above them turned darker as multiple clouds started to cover up the sun. Small snowflakes started to fall around them soon after. Sunwoo felt a bit weird about how drastically the weather had changed in just a minute. Could it be because of…

“It’s snowing!” Jeongin pointed out excitedly, holding out a hand to catch one of the snowflakes. “It must be getting cold. Should we head back?” Sunwoo asked, concerned about Jeongin catching a cold after staying out here for so long. The Hufflepuff however pouted. “Aw, let’s stay for a few more minutes. The snow is so pretty!” he replied.

Sunwoo sighed, unable to say no to his cuteness. “Fine, let’s stay ten more minutes”, he said, earning a bright smile from his boyfriend. Jeongin tried to warm his hands by rubbing them together as he watched the snow fall around them.

Sunwoo was really worried about the younger catching a cold, so he decided to hold open his jacket, offering to wrap it around the both of them. Jeongin turned to him and gladly accepted his offer, stepping closer to him and letting his arms find their way around Sunwoo’s waist as the older closed his jacket around them.

“This is nice”, Jeongin smiled, his face buried in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck. Sunwoo hummed in agreement and pulled him closer. The two of them stayed like this for a while before the Hufflepuff pulled away to look up at his boyfriend with his arms still wrapped around him.

Sunwoo could swear his heart skipped a beat when he met Jeongin’s gaze. He didn’t think he could ever get tired of looking into his eyes and watching the sparkle appear in his eyes every time he smiled. Sunwoo subconsciously leaned closer to Jeongin, whose eyes fell shut as their lips met in a soft kiss.

The view on the castle was long forgotten and all that mattered to the two students at that moment was how lucky they felt to have each other. The small snowflakes prettily falling around them just made the moment even more beautiful. Jeongin slowly pulled away first, letting his forehead lean against Sunwoo’s for a moment.

“I like you”, he admitted quietly. “I know”, Sunwoo replied, earning a light slap to the chest from the other. “Hey!” Jeongin laughed, making his boyfriend laugh as well.

After the couple had quieted down again, Sunwoo pressed another quick kiss to Jeongin’s lips before the snowflakes slowly but surely became bigger and the wind intensified.

They decided to head back to the castle since Jeongin’s Charms class was starting soon. While walking through the lively hallways, Sunwoo noticed many students looking at their intertwined hands and whispering to each other as the two students walked by.

_‘There he is’_

_‘Are they… holding hands?’_

_‘So, he really did curse Jeongin to make him like him… what a creep…’_

_‘I guess he kind of deserved it if he was too naïve to see through Sunwoo’s bullshit…’_

He nudged the younger and tried to let go of his hand to stop them from starting any more rumors and ruining Jeongin’s reputation, but Jeongin didn’t let him. “It’s okay, Sunwoo, just ignore those idiots… they don’t know what they’re talking about”, he told him and continued to make his way through the crowded hallway without giving them another glance.

When they arrived in front of the Charms classroom, Jeongin turned around to his boyfriend and smiled up at him. Sunwoo, however, seemed a bit absent-minded which worried the Hufflepuff a little. A few moments of silence passed before Sunwoo spoke up carefully.

“Jeongin… are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, a serious expression lingering on his face. The younger furrowed his eyebrows at the odd question.

“Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” he replied with a smile. Sunwoo gnawed at his lip in thought, his eyes glued to the floor.

“People are avoiding you because of me. And it will probably only get worse from now on. They are scared of me, and people do crazy things when they’re scared. I don’t want you to suffer because of me. I want to be by your side… but I don’t know if I should be if all it does is hurt you”, Sunwoo explained timidly.

“Sunwoo…” Jeongin sighed and pulled him into a hug. “Please don’t think like that. I don’t know why you’re so scared of hurting me. But I know that I don’t care about them and that I want to be by your side too. I promise, I’m okay with anything that comes with that”, he told Sunwoo, his arms wrapped around his torso and his chin resting on his shoulder.

Sunwoo’s arms found their way around Jeongin, one of his hands buried in his black hair and the other resting on his back. He wished it was as easy as Jeongin always made it seem. He wished there was an easy solution to this, but deep down he knew how foolish he was to even let himself get close to him. But Jeongin made it so easy to forget about it. Jeongin made it so easy to be selfish about it.

“I just don’t want to lose you”, Sunwoo replied quietly, just loud enough for only Jeongin to hear. Jeongin pulled out of the hug, took both of Sunwoo’s hands and intertwined their fingers before kissing his cheek. “And you won’t”, he assured him, smiling. Sunwoo returned his smile and cupped his boyfriend’s face in his hands.

That's when they heard Professor Flitwick tell the students inside the classroom to settle down, indicating that Jeongin’s class was about to start. “I’ll see you later?” the young Hufflepuff asked, earning a nod from Sunwoo.

Jeongin was about to let go of his hands and hurry inside the classroom when Sunwoo held him back to give him one last peck on the lips, effectively catching Jeongin by surprise. “I like you too”, he said and turned to leave before Jeongin could notice his reddened cheeks. He could hear his boyfriend chuckle behind him as he walked off with a smile on his face.

Maybe he could make it work somehow. Maybe, if he tried hard enough, he could protect him. Maybe, in order to keep him safe, the best solution was to just not tell him.

 

 


	11. I am [jolly]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay first off I'm so sorry for not updating for like two months. I got super busy moving in with my grandma and then I was just hit with a huge writer's block for this one shot. I got stuck on one scene for weeks but I finally managed to finish it today! 
> 
> I'm so so sorry for the long wait and I really hope that this one shot won't be a let-down. 
> 
> In this one, we basically get to see what the ships are doing over Christmas while Jeongin and Sunwoo were hanging out! It was meant to be just a filler but it turned out a lot longer than originally planned lmao. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys will like it and here's to not taking two whole months to update anymore (no promises, though)
> 
> Let's get into it!

 

Felix had been looking forward to Christmas break even more than usual. Changbin had agreed to come to Australia with him to meet his family and he was beyond excited. He did feel a little bad about making Changbin go through such a long flight, but his boyfriend didn’t seem to mind that much.

“I don’t have a fancy driver to pick us up from the airport, but I think my sister will do just fine”, Felix told him once they had landed and picked up their luggage. Changbin chuckled and linked their free hands together, as he let Felix lead him to the designated meeting spot he’d picked out with his sister. “So, are you nervous, at all? My family can be a bit of a handful”, Felix asked him.

“I’ve decided to be confident. Your family is going to love me”, Changbin replied, only half-joking. He was curious about what Felix’ family was like exactly, but thanks to all the good things his boyfriend had told him about them already, he wasn’t very nervous.

“Felix!” a female voice suddenly called out. Felix perked up, his eyes widening in delight when he spotted his sister. “Rachel!” he exclaimed, letting go of Changbin’s hand to hug her. “Did you get shorter since last summer?” Rachel teased her little brother, earning herself a pout. She cackled before facing Changbin. “And you must be the infamous Changbin”, she commented. “That’s me”, the Slytherin agreed.

Rachel eventually led the pair to her car, driving them to the Lee residence. Changbin stared out of the window the entire time, fascinated by the foreign country. Felix watched his boyfriend fondly, remembering the first time he had left Australia to attend Hogwarts when he was 11. He must have looked the exact same.

They reached the house after about twenty minutes and saw Felix’ parents already standing outside waiting for them. To Felix’ relief, they immediately seemed to love Changbin, asking him all kinds of questions ranging from the comfort of his flight to how he liked Australia so far. Felix could see that his boyfriend was tired, though, so he came to his rescue.

“Changbin can tell you guys his life story later. First, we need to rest a little and I’m pretty sure he could use a shower”, Felix explained.

“Sorry about them”, he said when he and Changbin were finally alone again and on the way to Felix’ room, but the older only chuckled. “Are you kidding? They’re great!” he told Felix excitedly. The Gryffindor laughed quietly, glad to hear that Changbin liked his family. “Just wait until they want to hear every detail of your life...”, he warned playfully.

After dropping off their bags, Felix directed Changbin to the bathroom, so he could take a shower. Felix waited for him to finish, before taking his own shower and the two of them decided to rest a little, cuddling on Felix’ bed in comfortable silence.

“Are you hungry? I could get us some snacks”, Felix suggested after a while. Changbin hummed in thought, before nodding. Felix pressed a kiss to the older’s forehead before getting out of bed and heading to the kitchen where his father was currently looking into the fridge.

“Hey dad”, Felix greeted him. Mr Lee shut the fridge, a small glass bottle of water in his hand. “Hey, how’s Changbin dealing with the jet lag?” he asked. Felix chuckled. “He seems to be fine. I was just going to get us some snacks, since it’s still a while until dinner”, he explained. “Speaking of dinner”, Felix’ father suddenly remembered, “we’re having a barbeque on Christmas. The whole neighborhood is really excited about you spending Christmas here. We practically invited everyone.”

Felix grinned in delight. “Awesome! I’m sure Changbin will love that!” His father chuckled, but before he could say anything, they heard a frightened scream from Felix’ room. Felix looked back at his father, wide-eyed before promptly running back to his room, where he found Changbin cowering on the bed, his knees brought up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them.

“What’s wrong, Binnie?” Felix asked, alarmed. “There’s a  _monster_!” Changbin whispered dramatically. Felix furrowed his brows in confusion. A monster? “It went under your bed.” Felix proceeded to crouch down and look underneath the bed. He laughed when he saw what had scared Changbin. “Binniebunny, that’s not a monster. That’s a cleaning robot”, he clarified, looking at his still frightened boyfriend.

“A  _what_  now?” Changbin asked. Felix chuckled and sat down next to him. “It’s a machine that cleans the floor. It’s harmless, I promise”, the younger explained, putting his arm around Changbin, who seemed to relax at the touch. “Teconglogy is weird...”, Changbin mumbled, pouting. Felix laughed again. “It’s  _technology_ , but you’re right. It’s kinda weird”, he agreed.

“I left the snacks downstairs...”, Felix remembered after a few moments of comfortable silence. Changbin rested his head on the younger’s shoulder. “We can eat later. For now, cuddling is fine”, he muttered and who was Felix to deny his boyfriend such a wish?

~

After the disaster with his mother last month, Hyunjin couldn’t deny that he was a little scared to meet Seungmin’s parents, despite the younger constantly reassuring him. Despite that, he wouldn’t have expected to be greeted with and excited hug from Seungmin’s mother right away.

“It’s so good to finally meet you! Seungmin’s told us a lot about you!” she told him. Hyunjin gave Seungmin a side look, catching his boyfriend’s embarrassed expression. “Where’s dad?” Seungmin questioned, clearly eager to get the whole first meeting out of the way.

“I’m here, I’m here!” Seungmin’s dad spoke up, coming out of a different room. He had grease stains all over his face and his clothes. “He’s been spending all his time in the garage lately, working on that old car”, Mrs Kim explained. Mr Kim nodded in agreement, before looking at Hyunjin.

“You must be Hyunjin! Seungmin wouldn’t shut up about you over summer break. I feel like I know you already”, he said casually. Seungmin groaned in embarrassment, making Hyunjin chuckle. “He’s told me a lot about you, too. Thanks for having me”, Hyunjin said politely, relieved that Seungmin’s parents actually seemed to like him.

“You two must be exhausted from the flight. Why don’t you show Hyunjin your room, Seungmin? You can rest a little and I’ll bring you some sandwiches, if you want”, Mr Kim said, but his wife turned to look at him. “You’re not setting a foot into the kitchen while you’re covered in grease! Wash up and  _I’ll_ make them sandwiches”, she told him.

Seungmin shook his head at his parents and took Hyunjin’s hand to lead him to his room. “Your parents are really nice”, Hyunjin said with a smile on his face. “They’re embarrassing”, Seungmin argued, though he was glad that Hyunjin seemed to like them. “They love you, it’s their duty to embarrass you”, his boyfriend pointed out, still smiling, but there was a sort of weird undertone in his voice.

Seungmin thought back to last month when he’d first met Hyunjin’s mother. She hadn’t even tried to hide that she disliked Seungmin and in the end she’d even slapped Hyunjin in the face right in front of him. He couldn’t imagine how unloved Hyunjin must have felt after all of that. He gave his boyfriend’s hand a squeeze, hoping that it would express what he failed to put into words.

They reached Seungmin’s room and were just about to enter it when the door across from it opened. A teenage boy peeked outside with a grin. “Mom said no closed doors when you have a boy over”, he stated. Seungmin rolled his eyes. “It’s not like we’re gonna do anything”, he said, turning to Hyunjin. “This is my brother Youngmin...”, he told his boyfriend, unenthusiastically.

“And you must be the oh-so-lovely Hyunjin”, Youngmin teased. “My brother literally only talked about you last summer”, he added. “So I’ve heard”, Hyunjin replied with a grin. “You play sports, right?” Youngmin asked him, sounding less teasing and more interested. “Yeah, I do. I’d like to say I’m quite good at it, as well.”

“Can you tell me about it? Quidditch, right? Seungmin doesn’t really know much about sports in general...at least not from a player’s perspective and I’d like to know about this weird sport!” Youngmin said, genuinely excited now. Hyunjin laughed and was just about to agree when Seungmin spoke up again.

“No, don’t you dare bond with him! He’s the devil!” Seungmin exclaimed, dramatically. Hyunjin only laughed at his boyfriend and shot Youngmin an apologetic look when he was pulled into Seungmin’s room. Seungmin leaned against his door and let out an exhausted sigh that made Hyunjin chuckle.

“I think he’s nice”, Hyunjin pointed out, grinning at the fake-glare he earned from Seungmin. “You didn’t grow up with him”, he answered, though it hardly seemed serious. Hyunjin shook his head fondly and leaned closer to peck Seungmin’s lips, effectively making the younger smile.

~

“Chanhee, say Merry Christmas”, Woojin cooed at Chanhee while waving a snowman plush rattle around. Chanhee looked at him, smiling at his silly antics. Woojin had been fascinated with his daughter’s newfound smile ever since she’d first done it and he’d made it his mission to make her smile as much as possible.

“Maybe she should start with smaller things first. Merry Christmas does seem a little advanced”, Mina pointed out with a chuckle as she joined Woojin at Chanhee’s new playmat. Chan and Minho had dropped it off the other day as an “early Christmas present” and Chanhee seemed to love it. It also kept her occupied when her parents were busy. Since Woojin had some time off work over Christmas, though, he spent most of his time with her. She seemed to really enjoy all the silly faces Woojin was making at her which encouraged Woojin to keep it up.

“I can’t believe it’s going to be her very first Christmas”, Mina said, looking at Chanhee, who was looking right back at her. She clapped her tiny hands together and made a sound. Mina laughed and copied her daughter. “Me neither...to me it still feels like she was born yesterday”, Woojin agreed. “Wasn’t she, though?” Mina joked, causing her fiancé to chuckle.

Woojin’s mother stepped into the room, a fond smile on her face at the sight of her son’s little family. “Are Chan and Minho still coming over for dinner on Christmas Eve?” she asked. Woojin nodded. “Chan wouldn’t pass up on an opportunity to see Chanhee”, he replied with a chuckle. “I feel like he only hangs out with me because of my child”, he added, mock hurt. His mom and Mina just laughed.

“Anyway, I have to go out to get the groceries for Christmas, as long as the stores are still open. Does anyone want to come along?” Mrs Kim asked. “I’ll come along. I feel like I haven’t been outside in forever”, Mina said, leaning over to peck Woojin on the cheek and then Chanhee before rising to her feet to get ready.

Woojin looked at Chanhee who was following her mother with her eyes. “Where’s mama going, Chanhee?” he asked. “She’s going to get lots of delicious food!” Chanhee looked at him, reaching out in an attempt to grab his nose. Woojin cooed at his daughter and leaned closer so she could reach him, effectively making her smile again.

~

“I have a strong feeling that we’re going to get caught”, Renjun muttered against his boyfriend’s lips before reconnecting them with his own. He and Jisung were currently in the empty Ravenclaw dorm, basking in the fact that almost nobody stayed behind over Christmas break. Of course, they spent most of their time making out.

It was kind of thrilling to just kiss Jisung in the middle of the dorm with the curtains around his bed left open, but on the other hand, Renjun felt like someone might burst in at any given second.

Jisung chuckled as he pulled back and looked around. “We’re not going to get caught, babe. Nobody’s here”, he stated, but Renjun still looked a little unsure. “If you want more privacy, we can go to the Room of Requirements”, Jisung offered. Renjun contemplated it for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m too lazy to move”, he waved off, cuddling up to Jisung instead.

“By the way, I was wondering; why did you stay behind on Christmas anyway?” Renjun asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. Jisung hummed in thought. “My mom and her partner are visiting my sister and her husband for the holidays...”, he replied. “What about your dad?” Renjun questioned since he knew that Jisung’s parents were divorced.

“He’s busy with work”, Jisung answered casually. “I don’t think he’s even home right now. Besides, Christmas is so much more fun with magic around. Why did  _you_  stay, though? You usually always go home for Christmas...” he returned the question. Renjun tensed a bit, thinking back to the letter he’d received the previous day. He hadn’t even told Jisung about it yet, Merlin-knows why. “Maybe I just wanted to spend Christmas with my boyfriend”, he finally said, pressing a kiss to Jisung’s soft cheek. It wasn’t a complete lie, though it wasn’t the whole truth either.

“You sure that’s it?” Jisung asked, slight concern laced in his voice. Renjun looked at him with a smile and linked his fingers with Jisung’s to give his hand a small squeeze. “Let’s just say it’s the main reason”, he replied, glad when Jisung didn’t press him for more reasons.

“Anyway, I’m kind of starving...”, Renjun muttered suddenly, sitting up. Jisung whined at the loss of warmth next to him and reached out in an attempt to pull Renjun back into his side but the older just laughed and dodged his hand. “I thought you were too lazy to move”, Jisung muttered, pouting.

“That was before it was about food”, Renjun pointed out with a grin, getting up from the bed. “Do you want me to come along?” Jisung asked but Renjun shook his head. “You look comfortable there. Should I bring anything for you?” “No, I think I’m good. Just come back quickly, it’s cold”, Jisung complained, making Renjun laugh again. “I won’t be long”, he promised before leaving the dorm and making his way to the kitchen.

Once Renjun had arrived there, he pulled yesterday’s letter from his back pocket as he sat down on a creaky stool. He read over it again, letting out a sigh. He didn’t know why he wouldn’t just tell Jisung about it. Maybe he just didn’t want to ruin his Christmas mood.

Or maybe, he didn’t want to say it out loud because that would just make it sound so final. Either way, Jisung was doing a pretty good job at distracting him most of the time, so he didn’t really feel the need to tell him just yet. Renjun sighed again, putting the letter back into his pocket before proceeding to make himself a sandwich so he could go back to Jisung.

~

Hyunjin had been rather fascinated with Seungmin’s father’s hobby. He couldn’t say that he knew a lot about cars, but when Mr Kim offered for him to join him at the garage he couldn’t say no. He’d been to a magical auto shop before, where car parts were just adjusting themselves, but somehow watching it be fixed manually was a lot more magical to Hyunjin.

“You know, my boys aren’t exactly interested in this kind of stuff”, Mr Kim said from where he was laying under the car. “They have their own interests and I respect that but I’ve always pictured working on cars with my children...”, he continued. Hyunjin couldn’t really imagine Seungmin ever doing that but he understood the man’s wish.

“I get what you mean. I always found myself wanting to do father-son things my friends got to do with their dads, but that never really happened”, he explained. Mr Kim rolled back from under the car. “Well, you’re part of the family now, so if you want, I could teach you a thing or two about fixing cars”, he offered, causing Hyunjin’s face to light up.

“Really? That would be awesome! Do I get to wear an overall like yours?” Hyunjin asked excitedly, making Seungmin’s dad laugh. “Sure, if that’s what you want”, he answered.

Soon, Hyunjin found himself looking at the underside of the car while Mr Kim directed him on how to fix the rust. He was clumsy in the beginning, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly. Mr Kim also taught him the basics about engines and all that stuff and at the end of the day Hyunjin felt like the biggest car expert. It was also a pretty great opportunity to bond with his boyfriend’s father.

“So, your dad just left?” Mr Kim asked him when they were taking a break and eating some sandwiches that Youngmin had brought them. “From what my mother told me, yeah. He never really tried to contact us, so I got used to not having a father, but it was still kind of hard sometimes”, Hyunjin explained. He thought about his mother; her bitterness and the way she seemed to love her work more than she loved her own son. Hyunjin had found himself thinking more than once that he would love to meet his mother’s happier version, the one he’d seen in the old, half-burnt pictures he’d found.

“I really envy Seungmin for having a little brother. I mean, our friend Jeongin is like a little brother to me but it’s not the same as having someone you grew up with...”, Hyunjin added. Seungmin’s father chuckled slightly. “I can tell you right now that Seungmin isn’t always glad to have Youngmin around and vice versa. They get on each other’s nerves  _a lot_. It was worse when they were younger, though. When we still lived in Japan...”

“How did you react when you found out Seungmin was a wizard?” Hyunjin questioned. Mr Kim thought about it for a moment. “His mom and I were pretty shocked when he got that letter from the school. I thought it was all a joke at first. I didn’t understand why there would be a school for wizards. But Seungmin was so happy. He felt like he finally fit in. Once he’d learned about Hogwarts a few years later he desperately wanted to go there. He begged us to let him go to England and we were reluctant at first, but we knew that he wouldn’t ask us if he wasn’t convinced that it was the best choice for him”, he told him. “Sometimes we’re still confused by all the things he tells us in his letters or when he’s here but it’s really important to us to let Seungmin be who he is”, he continued.

“And Youngmin? How did he react to everything?” Hyunjin asked, causing Mr Kim to chuckle fondly at the memory. “He was pretty bummed when he didn’t get a letter. He tried to hide his jealousy from Seungmin, but he still caught on. They had a really big fight about it once but then they talked everything out and Seungmin usually tells him everything he wants to know about the magic world, even though he pretends to be annoyed by his little brother’s questions”, he explained.

Mr Kim clapped his hands once and got up. “So, what do you say we get back to fixing that car? If we keep it up, we might be able to start her tomorrow.” Hyunjin jumped up from his seat excitedly. “Let’s get to it, then!” he exclaimed.

Eventually, Seungmin came into the garage to inform the two of them that dinner was almost ready. Mr Kim excused himself first to go and wash up. Seungmin looked at Hyunjin. “Did you have fun?” he questioned, making Hyunjin grin and nod excitedly. “Your dad’s really cool and he taught me all that stuff today!” he replied. Seungmin smiled, stepping closer to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “I’m glad to hear that”, he muttered.

“I do have to say that this whole mechanic look suits you a lot”, he added, giving Hyunjin a once-over with a raised eyebrow. Hyunjin chuckled and leaned closer to peck Seungmin on the lips before pulling back again. The younger chased his lips though, reconnecting them as Hyunjin’s hands found their favorite place on Seungmin’s hips.

Hyunjin pulled out of the kiss, however, and caressed Seungmin’s cheek. “I’m probably gross right now. Why don’t we continue this after I take a shower?” he offered, making Seungmin pout a little. “Fine”, he said.

While Hyunjin washed up, Seungmin helped his brother set the table. Youngmin looked at him and snickered. “What?” Seungmin asked. His brother just smirked at him. “ _What?_ ” he repeated his question, sounding sterner. Youngmin pointed at him, his smirk widening. “You have a grease stain on your neck”, he finally told Seungmin, whose hand immediately flew up to his neck to cover the stain.

“I didn’t know you were suddenly into cars”, Youngmin teased him just as a freshly showered Hyunjin walked into the room. “Or maybe you’re into the mechanics”, he continued, dodging Seungmin’s swing at him. He fled into the kitchen to get the silverware and Seungmin would have chased him down if Hyunjin’s arms hadn’t wrapped around his waist from the back.

“You have a grease stain on your neck”, he pointed out, wiping at Seungmin’s neck in an attempt to get it off. “I know. Youngmin already generously pointed that out”, Seungmin replied. Hyunjin chuckled and pressed a short kiss to his cheek. “You should go wash that off. I’ll help your brother with the rest”, Hyunjin said, removing his arms from around Seungmin.

Hyunjin sent a light smack to Seungmin’s ass as he was leaving the room which earned him an exasperated gasp. “Love you”, Hyunjin said innocently. Seungmin fake-glared at him. “You’re lucky, I love you too!” he replied before heading to the bathroom to wash off the grease stain.

~

“Still no word from your parents?” Mrs Kim asked Mina as she put some rice into the shopping cart. Mina lowered her head and shook it. “No, and I’m not expecting them to come around anytime soon, to be honest”, she replied. Mina hadn’t seen her parents in half a year when she’d left her home behind for good. Her parents hadn’t really reacted well to her being pregnant. Especially, since Chanhee’s father wasn’t a pureblood.

“I figured that since it’s Christmas...”, Woojin’s mother trailed off. Mina reached for some sugar on one of the shelves. “They’re not really big on forgiveness”, she answered. “But it’s okay; I’m okay”, she added, though she knew that Mrs Kim could see right through her lie. Of course, it hurt that her parents had treated her like they had but she had made a choice.

“Are you going to try inviting them to the wedding?” Woojin’s mother asked now. Mina stopped in her tracks. She hadn’t even thought about that. “I don’t know...they probably wouldn’t come anyway”, she answered with a shrug. Mrs Kim put a hand on Mina’s shoulder. “I think you should try inviting them. If they decide not to come that’s that, but if they do, maybe it’ll give you guys a chance to reconcile. They’re your family, after all”, she advised the young girl.

Mina knew for sure that she would  _never_  treat her daughter the way her mother had treated her. She thought about Chanhee’s beautiful smile and she couldn’t imagine ever disowning her for anything. That little girl was the most precious person in Mina’s life aside from Woojin, of course. A part of Mina wanted to keep Chanhee away from her grandparents forever. Another part wanted to give them another chance.

“I’ll think about it...”, Mina finally said. It seemed to be all Mrs Kim wanted to hear. “Still, you and your husband have done so much for me. I don’t know how I could ever repay you”, she added. Woojin’s parents had been more of a family to her than her own. Mrs Kim patted Mina’s arm with a fond smile. “The only thing we need you to do is to be good to Woojin.” Mina smiled back.

She could do that.

~

Felix spent the days leading up to Christmas showing Changbin around the city, telling him all kinds of stories about his childhood. Changbin seemed to enjoy listening to his boyfriend going on and on about the past.

“So where did you and Josh meet?” Changbin teased him, looking around the area. Felix spluttered at the sudden question and pouted when Changbin cackled at him. “You’re mean”, Felix muttered, though there was no bite behind it. Changbin cooed at him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, reassuring him that he was just kidding.

The Christmas barbeque approached fast and Felix grew more and more excited to see his friends again. Changbin had also seemed to be looking forward to it. The party was soon in full swing and the scent of grilled meat hung in the air of the Lee’s backyard. Christmas barbeques had always been one of Felix’ favorite things.

“Stan!” he called out when he spotted his oldest friend talking to his sister. Stan whirled around and dramatically ran towards Felix before engulfing him in a bone-crushing hug. “Felix, it’s been way too long! I can’t believe we missed each other last summer!” he exclaimed. Stan had spent the summer in Melbourne with his aunt, so he and Felix hadn’t had a chance to catch up.

“Did your parents tell you that I’m dating Nathan now?” Stan asked him as he pulled out of their hug. Felix’ eyes widened in delight. “Finally! You have to tell me everything!” he exclaimed right before he caught sight of his confused-looking boyfriend. “Right, sorry...Stan, meet Changbin, my boyfriend. Binnie, this is Stan. One of my best friends”, Felix introduced the two of them.

Stan greeted Changbin with a friendly smile. “Did you date this one too?” Changbin asked jokingly, though the chuckle got stuck in his throat when Felix and Stan exchanged flustered glances. He looked at Felix. “Seriously?” Felix only grinned sheepishly. “I’m no threat at all, though. Don’t worry”, Stan assured him, the grin wandering back onto his face.

“Yeah, he’s had it bad for Nathan King since he was like 10 years old which is why I was so surprised to hear that they finally got together!” Felix explained, relieved to see that Changbin didn’t seem to be mad about meeting another one of his boyfriend’s exes. Changbin made a noise of understanding at his boyfriend’s explanation. “Is Nathan here too?” Felix questioned.

Stan looked around. “He should be around here somewhere. He’s probably with Oliver...”, he replied. “That’s Nathan’s brother”, Felix informed Changbin just as a tall, tan boy with dark brown curls approached them and wrapped his arms around Stan, a smirk on his face. “Speak of the devil”, Felix said with a grin. Nathan let go of Stan to greet Felix with a high five.

“Long time no see, Felix. You didn’t happen to bring Chris along with you?” Nathan questioned, looking around curiously. Felix raised his eyebrows before shaking his head. “He’s spending Christmas with his boyfriend”, he informed the older boy. “Too bad”, Nathan answered, though the small smirk never left his face.

“Anyway Nate, Changbin. Changbin, Nate!” Felix introduced his boyfriend to the newcomer. Changbin looked up at Nathan who acknowledged him with a short nod. He was rather tall, and his smirk seemed to never fade. Changbin wasn’t sure if he liked him. But when the older boy turned to Stan, his features went from cocky to lovestruck and he gave off completely different vibes.

“We should leave you two lovebirds alone! Stan, we’ll catch up later. There’s a lot you need to tell me”, Felix announced, wagging his eyebrows at his childhood friend before waving at him and Nathan and pulling Changbin along. Shortly after they ran into Oliver King; who, in Changbin’s humble opinion, resembled his brother Nathan a lot. He also seemed to be interested in Chan’s whereabouts which made Changbin give Felix a questioning look.

“I’m not entirely sure what it is with Chan and the King brothers and none of them will tell me what’s really going on. I might get it out of Chan one day, but I think he’ll have to be really, really drunk. That’s when he spills all of his secrets”, Felix explained with a small chuckle. Changbin laughed.

~

Jisung looked at Renjun with a worried expression. His boyfriend had been down during the entire Christmas feast and it didn’t seem to have worn off overnight, even when they were currently seated in front of the fireplace in the common room unwrapping gifts.

“Are you okay?” Jisung finally asked when he couldn’t take Renjun’s unenthusiastic expression anymore as he opened present after present without any kind of reaction. Renjun seemed to snap out of some sort of daze and managed to give Jisung a half-assed smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked. Jisung raised an eyebrow. “You tell me, babe...you seem sad...”, he told him, worry etched in his voice.

Renjun slumped his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’ve just had a lot on my mind...I guess I’m just not feeling the Christmas spirit...”, he admitted, lowering his eyes and fiddling with the hem of his chestnut brown Christmas sweater. Jisung pushed some of the wrapping paper aside and scooted closer to his boyfriend, taking one of his hands into his own. “Is it because you stayed in Hogwarts this year? Would you rather spend Christmas with your family?” Jisung asked carefully.

“That’s the thing. I’m glad I’m  _not_  at home right now”, Renjun said. Jisung gave him a confused look, not quite knowing what the older meant. “I got a letter from my parents the other day. They said they were getting a divorce...”, Renjun finally told him. Realization dawned on Jisung’s face and he mentally slapped himself for not picking up on it sooner. He pulled his hand back from Renjun’s and wrapped his arm around him instead, pulling him into his side. “I’m sorry...”, he mumbled. He knew how much this situation sucked, since his own parents were divorced as well.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked after a few seconds of silence. Renjun brought a sweater paw up to his eyes to wipe at them. “I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t want to burden you with my problems. It’s Christmas, after all”, he replied in a small voice. Jisung made Renjun look at him. “That’s what I’m here for though. You can always come to me when you’re going through something. You don’t have to handle it alone”, he assured the older who just smiled faintly and nodded before he leaned in to press a chaste kiss onto Jisung’s lips.

“Come on, I have a present for you”, Jisung suddenly said, pulling Renjun to his feet with him. The older Ravenclaw frowned in confusion. “We said no presents, though! I didn’t get you anything!” he protested but Jisung only laughed. They went upstairs to their dorm room where Jisung didn’t hesitate to climb on his bed and pat the space next to him. Renjun looked hesitant but followed his boyfriend, nonetheless. He let out a surprised squeak when Jisung pulled him in for a tight hug.

“What are you doing?” Renjun asked, his voice muffled by the fabric of Jisung’s Santa-themed sweater. “When my parents got a divorce, cuddles helped a lot. I cried all the time when the two of them separated, so my sister and I would just put on a movie and cuddle for hours. I mean, this is going to suck for a while, I’m not gonna lie to you, but you’ve got me, and I will give you all the cuddles you need until you feel better”, Jisung explained, smiling when he felt Renjun’s arms wrap around his middle.

“What did I do to deserve you, Han Jisung?” he muttered. “Well, for starters, you took off your clothes- ow!” Jisung exclaimed when Renjun lightly pinched his side at the comment, though he was unable to hold back his laughter. “You just had to go ahead and ruin the moment, didn’t you”, Renjun said, looking up at him with a fond sparkle in his eyes. Jisung grinned and leaned closer to kiss him.

Just as they pulled apart again, the door opened and Bae Jinyoung, the only Ravenclaw who had stayed behind over Christmas break, aside from Jisung and Renjun, stepped into the room, heading straight for his suitcase. He only spared them a quick glance. Renjun pulled out of Jisung’s hug, sitting up straight. “Uh...we were just...”, he trailed off, catching Jisung’s amused eyes at his attempt to talk them out of the situation.

However, Jinyoung turned around to face them with an unfazed expression. “That’s none of my business”, he told the two of them and weirdly enough, he seemed to mean it. “Can you not tell anyone about this, though? We’re just...we don’t want any rumors to start”, Renjun continued. Jinyoung shrugged. “Who would I tell?” was all he said before he left the dorm again.

Renjun let out a sigh and sunk back into the mattress. “Do you think he’s going to tell?” Jisung asked. Renjun shook his head. Jinyoung didn’t seem like the type for gossip. “I don’t think he will...”, he trailed off before rolling onto his side to face Jisung. “I’m really sorry for ruining Christmas for you”, he apologized suddenly.

Jisung reached up to intertwine their hands again, playing with Renjun’s fingers as he answered: “You didn’t ruin anything. I don’t expect you to be frolicking when your parents are breaking up...” Renjun smiled faintly. “I...”, he trailed off before seemingly rethinking his words. “Thanks for being you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Jisung smiled back at him before reaching under his pillow with his free hand. “I guess you did get pretty lucky with me”, he teased slightly before pulling out a rectangular box from under his pillowcase and opening it. “Without me there’d be nobody to buy you presents despite you telling me not to”, he continued, pulling a silver necklace from the box.

“Jisung! I meant it when I told you I didn’t get you anything”, Renjun said, his eyes wide as he brought himself up into a seating position again. Jisung copied him, grinning sheepishly. “I wasn’t going to buy it, but...it just suited you, so I couldn’t resist”, the younger explained, dangling the necklace in front of Renjun’s face. A silver pendant in the shape of a wolf hung from it.

“It’s beautiful...”, Renjun mumbled. “Just like its owner”, Jisung answered, motioning for Renjun to turn around so he could put the necklace on. Renjun took the opportunity to hide his reddened cheeks. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when Jisung’s fingers grazed his skin there as he put on the necklace.

He turned back to face Jisung, the younger admiring the necklace around his boyfriend’s neck. “I feel bad about not getting you anything, though...”, Renjun said, looking down at his new present. Jisung waved off and pulled him closer again, kissing him. “This is enough of a present for me”, he answered.

“You know, for someone who tends to ruin the moment a lot, you sure do get sappy often”, Renjun told him, making Jisung laugh. “If you want, we can just go back to taking our clothes off”, he suggested, wagging his eyebrows and making Renjun blush and playfully shove his chest. “You’re making this sound really wrong!” he shot back.

“I wasn’t the one in the bubble bath, sweetheart”, Jisung teased him, causing Renjun to blush even more. “I hate you”, he grumbled, wishing he was still as confident as he had been back then. Jisung cackled and pulled him in to cuddle him again. “No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t...”

After all, Jisung had made him temporarily forget about his parents’ divorce. And the other thing, too...

~

“How many pictures are you going to take of me, my love?” Hyunjin asked in an amused tone of voice when he caught Seungmin snapping a photo. Seungmin lowered his camera, grinning. “I won’t stop until the film’s full”, he announced, only making Hyunjin laugh.

The two of them had decided to spend the day at the beach because according to Seungmin’s mother there was “nothing more romantic than watching the sunset at the beach together.” Seungmin liked the beach, since it was a pretty chill spot to study sometimes. However, he had to admit that it was a lot more enjoyable to be here with Hyunjin.

“You should come here with me more often”, Seungmin pointed out, letting the camera dangle from around his neck, as he stepped closer to his boyfriend who was ankle-deep in the water. “I’d love that, but I’m afraid my mom’s already going to have my head for coming here once she finds out...”, Hyunjin replied, casually wrapping his arms around Seungmin’s waist.

“You know she can’t tell you what to do much longer, right? In a few months you’ll be an adult...she has to get used to you making your own decisions”, Seungmin told him, his tone serious. “And for the love of Merlin, if she slaps you one more time, I’ll-”

Hyunjin didn’t let him get much further and instead just cut him off with a kiss. Seungmin didn’t fully appreciate his rant being cut short but at least Hyunjin had used a proper method to shut him up. Too soon, Hyunjin pulled back and looked at him.

“You’re completely right. It’s just hard...probably won’t even send one of her half-assed Christmas cards...”, Hyunjin trailed off. “Like, I want her to care but I’m scared that she only cares in negative ways. Does that make sense?”

Seungmin nodded and pulled Hyunjin in for a hug. He wanted to do more for him than just that, but he knew that he couldn’t. At least not right now. Eventually, Hyunjin pulled out of the hug and Seungmin’s heart broke a little when he saw unshed tears glistening in his boyfriend’s eyes. Hyunjin only chuckled and wiped at his eyes.

“Sorry, let’s not talk about it anymore”, Hyunjin said. “The sun’s about to set.” Seungmin wanted to keep reassuring him but he could sense that Hyunjin was done with the topic for now. So, he just sat down in the sand with him and leaned into Hyunjin’s side as the older placed an arm around his shoulders.

They sat in silence watching the sun go down and basking in each other’s presence.

~

“I could get used to this”, Hyunjin told his boyfriend the next day. Seungmin chuckled and got more comfortable next to Hyunjin. They had decided to spend the morning in the hot tub while Seungmin’s parents and Youngmin were out. “It  _is_  pretty nice out here...”, Seungmin agreed.

Hyunjin grinned, nuzzling his neck. “Not what I meant”, he purred, sneakily tracing his finger over his boyfriend’s hip tattoo, earning himself a yelp. “You-”, Seungmin cut himself off, fake glaring at Hyunjin who just grinned, an innocent expression on his face.

“What? I rarely ever get a chance to see that pretty tattoo of yours”, Hyunjin muttered, going back to burying his face in the crook of the younger’s neck, leaving a few feather-like kisses in his wake. Seungmin shuddered a little at the feeling, turning his body slightly so he half-faced Hyunjin. The Slytherin’s lips wandered from his neck up to his jaw line until they met with Seungmin’s. One of Hyunjin’s hands moved up to cup his cheek while the other circled around his waist. He relished in the barely audible whimper Seungmin let out when his lips moved back to his neck.

Suddenly, a cough came from the doorway of the patio, causing the couple to jump apart. They whipped around to see a smirking Youngmin standing there, wagging his eyebrows. He had a surfboard under his arm, so it was pretty clear that he’d just returned from the beach. “Mom and Dad just pulled up in the driveway. So, unless you want them to catch you like this, I’d suggest you make yourself look more presentable”, Youngmin teased them before walking away without further words.

Hyunjin looked at his boyfriend and giggled, poking Seungmin’s neck where he’d gotten a little  _too_  carried away. “I think your brother’s right...”, he said, at least having the decency to look a little sheepish. Seungmin couldn’t even bring himself to be mad about the hickey he’d have to hide from his parents now.

They got out of the hot tub and put some clothes on. Hyunjin was faster than Seungmin so he went ahead and helped Mr and Mrs Kim with carrying in the last-minute groceries they’d bought. When Seungmin finished getting dressed as well and left his room he promptly ran into his smug little brother.

“You two are really whipped for each other...”, Youngmin pointed out. Seungmin crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re not!” he argued. They totally were. Youngmin knew it just as well as Seungmin did. “You got a tattoo to prove you wrong, though”, he told him, cackling when Seungmin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How do you-...you’re not going to tell mom, right?” Seungmin asked him, looking at Youngmin with a pleading expression. Youngmin tapped his chin in thought. “Not if you pay up! 20 bucks and I’ll keep quiet”, he finally said, a mischievous grin on his face. Seungmin huffed in exasperation .

“I’m not going to pay you, brat!” he said. Youngmin only grinned, taking a deep breath and shouting: “Mom!” Seungmin panicked, covering his brother’s mouth with his hand. “Fine, I’ll give you 20 bucks! I swear to god, Kim Youngmin, one day I’ll hex you to another planet!” he threatened while pulling some money from his back pocket and shoving it into Youngmin’s hand.

“Pleasure doing business with you, big brother!”

~

“Chanhee, who’s your favorite uncle? Is it uncle Minho?” Minho currently cooed at the baby. He and Chan had just arrived for dinner and Minho had immediately joined Woojin at the new playmat.

“It’s definitely uncle Chan!” Chan playfully argued as he helped Mrs Kim set the table. Minho stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend which made Chanhee laugh. “See, she loves me”, he declared proudly. Woojin laughed and lifted Chanhee into his arms. “Look at those silly uncles fighting for your affection...”, he said. Chanhee clapped her tiny hands together in excitement.

“If you’re going to be this popular when you’re older, your dad’s going to get gray hair very early on”, Woojin continued, giving Chanhee a fond look. Minho grinned. “I’ll make sure to teach her everything I know!” he promised. “Don’t you dare!” Woojin warned him but Minho only laughed before joining Chan who was still carrying stuff inside.

Woojin shook his head fondly and exchanged another look with his daughter. “Should we go look for mama and grandpa?” Woojin asked her, heading in the direction of the kitchen where his father and Mina currently seemed to be in the process of finishing up dinner.

“Need any help?” Woojin questioned. Mina gave him a look and smiled. “No, thanks. We’re pretty much done, I think”, she answered. “Alright, I’ll go put Chanhee down then”, Woojin announced. Mina quickly shuffled over to press a kiss onto her daughter’s forehead before sending the two of them off with a smile.

Dinner was rather lively, which was a given when someone as full of energy as Minho was around. The Kims had only met him a few months ago since he and Woojin hadn’t grown close until after he and Chan had started dating. Nevertheless, Woojin’s parents practically treated him like another son. Minho found himself liking the family-like atmosphere since he’d never really experienced it at home.

He could really get used to spending Christmas like this.

“How’s the wedding planning coming along?” Chan asked Woojin who couldn’t hold back a smile at the mention of his upcoming wedding. “It’s going a little too slowly for my liking, but we still have time after all”, Woojin answered.

“Isn’t the wedding scheduled for April?” Minho questioned, furrowing his brows. Woojin nodded, causing Minho to gasp. “That’s so soon! Have you picked out a dress yet?” he addressed Mina, who laughed at her distressed friend. “Not yet. I was a little busy with Chanhee”, she admitted.

“Did you find a venue?” Minho asked next. “I’ve found a good one. That’s pretty much the only thing that’s fully secured yet”, Woojin’s father spoke up. “If you guys need a caterer...”, Minho trailed off, but Chan put a hand on top of his, causing him to stop talking.

“Slow down, babe. I didn’t know you were this excited about the wedding”, he teased his boyfriend. Minho clutched his heart in exasperation. “Of course, I’m excited about the wedding, Channie! It’s going to be the highlight of my year! I love weddings!”, he exclaimed. “And theirs is going to be amazing”, he added.

“If you’re not too busy with your auror training, do you want to help me plan it?” Mina suddenly asked him. Minho’s eyes widened almost comically. “Do you really mean that?” Mina nodded. “I’ll have you know that I was born to plan weddings. It’s going to be the highlight of  _everyone’s_  year!”

Chan chuckled in amusement, happy to see his boyfriend this excited. “I think you’ve just created a monster”, he joked, causing the others to laugh.

~

Felix was currently in the middle of ripping open his father’s Christmas present. “Dad! This is...”, he trailed off, looking at the self-knitted, sock-like thing in his hand. “Uh...what is it?” he questioned. Felix father laughed. “It’s a wand sock”, he explained. Felix chuckled. It was entirely like his father to give him such a silly but useful present. “I love it, dad, thanks”, he said. He pulled the wand out of his pocket and tried to put it in the sock.

“Perfect”, Mr Lee exclaimed cheerfully. “I made one for you, too, Changbin!” he addressed his son’s boyfriend, who looked surprised when Felix’ father handed him a wrapped present. “Thank you”, Changbin said, baffled. He hadn’t expected to get any presents from the Lees. He turned to Felix.

“I got you something...”, he admitted shyly. Felix beamed at him. “Binnie! You shouldn’t have!” he exclaimed. Changbin only smiled and handed him the fancily wrapped box. Felix gasped when he unwrapped it to find the expensive pair of Quidditch gloves he’d been eyeing for months. He’d stop by at the Quidditch store every time he and Changbin went to Hogsmeade and stare at the gloves for a solid 10 minutes.

“I definitely had to get them for you. You wanted them so badly, how could I not?” Changbin said, grinning at Felix who was still staring at the gloves wide-eyed. “Those must have cost a fortune, Changbin!” Mrs Lee pointed out. Changbin waved off. “It was nothing...”, he muttered shyly.

“This is going to put my gift for you to shame, Binnie...”, Felix joked, wrapping his arms around Changbin. “Thank you so much, I love you”, he thanked his boyfriend, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Changbin blushed when Felix’ parents cooed at them.

“Okay, here’s mine”, Felix said once they’d pulled apart. He went to pick up a rather big box from under the Christmas tree. Changbin’s eyes widened. “Felix, what is that?” he questioned. Felix grinned. “I’m afraid it looks more impressive than it actually is. Go ahead, open it!” he told his boyfriend.

Changbin unwrapped the present to find a large wooden box. He gave Felix a look, but the younger only motioned for him to open the lid, which he did. Inside was a self-knitted sweater in Slytherin colors. “I’ve never knitted anything before, but I asked dad for pointers and...it’s not very good but-”

“I love it, Lix”, Changbin cut him off, admiring the soft sweater as Felix blushed at the compliment. “As for the box...if we put little partition walls in there you can use it to start a potions collection or something. I know that Hyunjoon has something like this”, Felix explained. Changbin smiled at him. “If only his presents for us were this heartfelt”, Mr Lee suddenly joked, causing the rest of them to laugh.

Changbin had always loved Christmas since his parents tended to go all out with the decorations (and, yes, also with the presents). He’d been a little sad about not spending the holidays with his parents but Felix loving family had definitely made it worth it.

~

“Wow, thanks Youngmin...please excuse me while I go return your present”, Seungmin deadpanned as he inspected the book his little brother had gifted him. “What? I thought you might enjoy a guide on how to have fun. Since you’re always studying and probably barely have time for your boyfriend”, Youngmin said innocently. Seungmin was about to retort that he had more than enough time for his boyfriend and that he very well knew how to have fun, but his mother beat him to it.

“Be nice, Youngmin”, she scolded him. Youngmin grinned and pulled out another gift from under the tree. “Alright, I was just kidding anyway. Here’s your real gift”, he announced and handed the wrapped box to Seungmin who took it skeptically. He unwrapped it to find a brand-new photo album inside.

“It’s nothing special but since you like taking pictures so much, I figured you could use somewhere to put them...”, Youngmin explained sheepishly. Seungmin looked at his brother, speechless for a few moments while Hyunjin was inspecting the album from over his shoulder.

“Thank you”, Seungmin said finally. “That’s...that’s really thoughtful of you, Youngmin. I don’t even know what to say.” Youngmin shrugged nonchalantly. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s no big deal”, he waved off. Seungmin chuckled at his little brother’s tough guy act. He scooted over to Youngmin and tackled him in a hug.

“Ew, stop! I don’t want- no, don’t you dare!” Youngmin screeched when Seungmin attempted to plant a big, brotherly smooch onto his cheek. Seungmin let go of his brother, laughing, and returned to his original seat next to Hyunjin who had watched the whole exchange with a mixture of fondness and amusement.

“So, what did you get me?” Youngmin questioned while still excessively wiping at his cheek, despite Seungmin’s failed attempt. The older grinned and got out a rather large box which he handed over to Youngmin.

“What is it?” Youngmin asked, once he’d unwrapped the present to find a colorful box full of stuff he didn’t know. “It’s stuff from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. It’s a joke shop and they have all sorts of stuff, so I figured I could get you a few things.” He got his brother some of the more harmless items so neither of them would get in trouble. Seungmin knew how jealous his brother was sometimes, regarding him being a wizard, so he was glad to at least be able to share the little things of his world with him.

“That’s so cool, thanks Seungmin!” Youngmin exclaimed. “Look at you two getting along”, their father commented. “Don’t get used to it”, Seungmin joked. The rest of the family exchanged gifts – Seungmin got Hyunjin a handheld game console which he had been very delighted about – before spending the day watching Christmas movies. Once Seungmin’s parents got started on lunch and Youngmin began testing his new Wizard Wheezes, Hyunjin led Seungmin back to his room.

“And what are you up to?” Seungmin questioned when his boyfriend closed the door behind them. “Nothing wild, I promise”, Hyunjin told him with a chuckle. “I just wanted to give you your present in private.” Seungmin raised his eyebrow as he sat down on his desk chair and watched Hyunjin rummage around in his suitcase.

“Close your eyes”, Hyunjin instructed him. Seungmin raised his eyebrow at his secretive boyfriend but decided to do as he was told. He heard Hyunjin make a triumphant noise when he seemed to have found the gift in his suitcase and no sooner, he felt the older’s presence as he crouched down in front of him.

“Okay, so my first present...”, Hyunjin trailed off. Seungmin wanted to make a comment but before he could, he felt Hyunjin’s full lips on his own. The kiss was gentle and chaste, and it made Seungmin smile as his heartbeat picked up. When Hyunjin pulled back, Seungmin opened his eyes. “No, keep them closed”, Hyunjin said, though with a soft smile on his face.

“Why are you making this such a big secret? This is making my gift for you look weak”, Seungmin joked, sounding a little whiny about being kept in the dark – literally. Hyunjin chuckled and kissed his cheek. “I love your gift”, he assured Seungmin. “Alright, so my second gift is something really serious. I spent a lot of time thinking about whether I should really give it to you. I don’t want to freak you out”, he continued.

“Uh...Hyunjin? You’re not, like, going to propose to me right now, are you? Because you know I love you and shit, but I don’t think my parents would approve of that just yet”, the younger rambled suspiciously. He heard Hyunjin giggle again before something was slipped onto his ring finger. His eyes flew open in surprise.

“Don’t worry, it’s  _not_  a proposal. I just wanted to give you something meaningful and I think this one suits you very well. Just view it as a placeholder for the engagement ring I’m definitely going to give you when we’re older”, Hyunjin told him, sounding more confident than he looked. Seungmin gently ran a hand through the older’s hair, before looking at the ring. The ring was simple, though Seungmin was sure that Hyunjin had probably paid a lot for it. It didn’t look like a typical engagement ring, so that was good. He could already imagine Jisung freaking out at the thought of his best friend getting engaged.

“So, it’s basically a pre-engagement ring?” he joked, mainly to distract himself from his thoughts about an actual engagement. Hyunjin laughed and nodded. “I guess you could say that. It’s just with less pressure and me not actually asking you to spend the rest of your life with me”, he agreed. “Is it too much, though? You don’t have to wear it on your finger”, he added, slight worry etched in his voice.

Seungmin looked at the ring for a few seconds. “Well, maybe I should wear it as a necklace when we get back to school. You know how crazy that castle is regarding rumors”, he reasoned with his boyfriend who nodded in agreement. “I figured”, Hyunjin said before pulling a necklace chain from his pocket with a grin.

Seungmin slipped the ring off his finger and put it on the chain before letting his boyfriend put it around his neck. “It’s really pretty, Hyunjin”, he told Hyunjin who smiled at him. “Of course, it is. Only the best for you, my love.” Seungmin chuckled and pulled Hyunjin closer for a kiss.

A loud knock startled them and a second later Youngmin burst into the room, covering his eyes. “I hope you’re decent! Lunch’s ready!” he announced. Seungmin let go of Hyunjin to chase after his brother who ran off screeching and cackling. Hyunjin only shook his head fondly and began to make his way downstairs as well.

All in all: Best Christmas Ever. 

 


	12. I am [pissed]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!
> 
> Today I'm back with a new one shot! Since there's quite a few mentions of grades in there, I thought I'd refresh y'all on what kind of grades there are in the HP universe in case some of you guys aren't familiar with them. 
> 
> There are three passing grades: 
> 
> O for Outstanding  
> E for Exceeds Expectations  
> A for Acceptable
> 
> As well as three fail grades: 
> 
> P for Poor  
> D for Dreadful  
> T for Troll
> 
> Okay that's it already. I hope you guys will like this!

 

Ever since Slytherin had defeated Gryffindor in the last game, Jisung had been focusing on his team's gameplay more. If Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff in March, Slytherin and Ravenclaw would play against each other at the end of the year. Since his Quidditch performance hadn't exactly been good in his previous school year, Jisung was even more determined to lead his team to victory, now that he was captain.

Winning against last year's champion was only an added bonus.

Lately, Seungmin had started to nag him about his schoolwork more often, complaining that Jisung was spending too much time worrying about Quidditch. Jisung was annoyed but he decided to brush it off for the time being. Besides, he wasn't _just_  focusing on Quidditch. He also made it a priority to spend quality time with his boyfriend, though Seungmin didn't know about that.

"Alright, students. I will now collect your homework essays", Professor Flitwick announced one morning in Charms class. Jisung made a face. He had completely forgotten about that stupid essay since yesterday's practice had run really late. "Let me guess, you didn't do it", Seungmin mumbled to him. Jisung rolled his eyes. "I had practice", he said.

"That's always your excuse", Seungmin told him. Jisung was about to snap at him for being a nag when Professor Flitwick raised his wand and let the essays fly over to his desk. "It doesn't seem like all of you guys did it, if I look at this stack...", Flitwick said, already casting a knowing glance in Jisung's direction. "Jisung, Yangyang...care to tell me where your essays are?"

"It's my fault, Professor. I kept my team a little too busy this week", Jisung spoke up, not wanting Yangyang to get in trouble. "As noble as that is, Mr Han, I'm sure your teammate could have handled his time better. I'll let you off with a warning this time but next time you'll face detention!" Flitwick warned them before moving on with the lesson.

"Thanks, bro", Yangyang mumbled gratefully from the seat behind him. Jisung looked over his shoulder and gave him a grin. Seungmin huffed next to him, causing Jisung to look at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "What?" "Nothing...", Seungmin muttered, sounding displeased.

Class ended soon, and Jisung decided to confront Seungmin once they were out of the classroom. "You're pissed I didn't get detention, aren't you?" he stated. Seungmin gave him a side look. "Of course not. I just think that you're leaning onto your luck a little too much", he replied. Jisung stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms over his chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Seungmin also stopped and turned to face him. "I mean that the teachers like you, despite you barely putting any effort into your schoolwork! You get detention but you just brush it off and continue going on like before", he explained. Jisung tilted his head. "Why are you so mad about that? It's not affecting you, is it?"

"No, but you're my friend so I  _worry_. We're going to graduate next year. Don't you care at all?" Seungmin questioned. Jisung let out an exasperated huff. "Please, why are you only getting on  _my_  case when your boyfriend is also mainly focused on Quidditch? Why is he any different?" he snapped. "Because Hyunjin still takes the time to study with me when we hang out. He cares about his future, at least! He's not settling for less", Seungmin shot back.

Jisung knew that his friend was referring to him wanting to open his own bar when he graduated. He had never realized that Seungmin interpreted that wish as settling for less. His jaw tightened. "Last time I checked  _my_  future plans weren't any of  _your_  business!" he spat before walking off, still hearing Seungmin's "yeah, run away from your responsibilities, you're good at that!" eHe ha

Jisung chose to ignore the remark and just kept walking to his next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Renjun sat down in the seat next to his, just as he was in the middle of slamming his stuff onto the desk. "What was that between you and Seungmin just now?" the older questioned. "Nothing." Jisung snapped, before realizing that his boyfriend had done nothing wrong.

Renjun raised an eyebrow at Jisung's attitude. "Sorry...I didn't mean to take it out on you", Jisung apologized. Renjun leaned back in his seat. "What's wrong?" Jisung watched Seungmin walk into the classroom and sit down next to Eric. "He got on my case about focusing too much on Quidditch and neglecting my schoolwork. Then he said I was 'settling for less' because of my plans to open a bar...", Jisung quickly recounted.

"He's your best friend, I'm sure he's just worried about you", Renjun reassured him. Jisung sighed and rested his arms on the desk in front of him. He knew that Renjun was right. Seungmin was probably just looking out for him. It just pissed him off that he had to be so condescending about it.

"Go make up with him! I'm not going to sit next to you when you're pouting like that", Renjun demanded, nudging him a little. Jisung's pout only intensified. "I don't want to. He's already preparing for class", he said. Renjun rolled his eyes but luckily let the topic rest.

~

At lunch Seungmin sat down at the table across from Jisung with Hyunjin in tow. The two Ravenclaws exchanged short looks. "Is this what it's going to be like?" Hyunjin questioned. Seungmin rolled his eyes and looked at Jisung again. "Sorry about earlier", he said. "We good?" he then asked. Jisung shrugged, though he couldn't fight the little smile. "I guess", he replied. And that was it. Seungmin and Jisung never really fought a lot, but when they did, it didn't take them very long to make up.

At least not usually...

~

"Alright guys, you know the drill. I want everything off the table except for your quills. If I catch anyone looking at anything but their own parchment it's an immediate T", Professor McGonagall announced around a week later. Jisung shot an alarmed glance at his best friend. "Wait, there's a test today?" he asked.

Seungmin gave him an exasperated look. "Have you not been listening to me at all over the past week? I told you several times that Hyunjin and I were going to the library to study for the Transfigurations test!" he said. Jisung's eyes widened. He faintly recalled something about Seungmin and Hyunjin mentioning the library, but he had dedicated the past week to solo Quidditch practices.

"I was busy!" Jisung defended himself. Seungmin looked like he wanted to argue with that, but in that moment McGonagall's voice rang through the classroom again. "No more talking, please!" Jisung slumped his shoulders when a piece of parchment landed on his desk in front of him.

Time to wing it.

~

"Hey, babe...are you alright?" Jisung asked Renjun the same afternoon. His boyfriend had been sitting on his bed with a book in his lap, though he wasn't even looking at the pages. Renjun snapped out of his daze at the sound of Jisung's voice, giving him a perplexed look. "What?" he asked.

"I asked if you were alright? You were spacing out", Jisung clarified. The truth was that Renjun had been a bit weird ever since Christmas. Jisung had learned that his boyfriend's parents were getting a divorce, so he mainly blamed it on that, but it was like Renjun was hiding something else from him. He didn't have the courage to bring it up though, afraid that he would unnecessarily upset the older.

"I'm fine, babe. Just a little stressed out about this Astronomy test...", Renjun said with a smile that seemed a little forced. "Are you sure?" Jisung asked, just to make sure. Renjun nodded and proceeded to focus on his book. It only lasted for a few seconds though before he looked up again.

"Hey, how did Transfigurations go for you?" he questioned, referring to their earlier test. Jisung made a face and sat down on the bed beside him. "Don't even remind me. I had no idea there was even going to be a test", Jisung said. "What? Did I forget to remind you?" Renjun questioned, looking guilty. "No, babe, it's not your fault. I was just focused on Quidditch. And you don't have to look out for me", Jisung assured him.

Renjun sighed. "Well, truth is I have a lot on my mind these days. You know, because of my parents. I probably really just forgot to remind you", he apologized. Jisung leaned in to kiss him, not caring if anyone walked in. The last thing he wanted was for Renjun to feel guilty about something he wasn't responsible for.

"It's not your fault, babe", he assured him. "But are you really sure you're okay? 100%?" Renjun smiled faintly and nodded. "100%. Well, let's say 95% because of stupid Astronomy", he assured his boyfriend. Jisung rested his head on Renjun's shoulder and mumbled: "I'll let you get back to studying, don't mind me."

Renjun chuckled and started to pet Jisung's hair, as he finally focused back on his book. If Jisung dozed off like this, it was nobody's business.

~

"Mr Han...you could've done a lot better. I know you have it in you", Professor McGonagall said when she handed out the test results in the next Transfigurations lesson. Jisung looked at the grade and made a face at the bright red  _P_. He was usually pretty good at Transfigurations so he got where McGonagall was coming from.

Renjun who sat next to him patted his shoulder comfortingly. "What did you get?" Jisung asked him. "An A...", Renjun said. It wasn't much better than Jisung's grade but at least Renjun had received a passing grade.

Jisung was glad when Transfigurations was finally over and he and Renjun could head to lunch. Seungmin caught up with them halfway.

"Hey, Seungmin. What did you get?" Renjun questioned and Jisung really wished he hadn't. "An O! I might get my first rank back this year", Seungmin replied cheerfully. Last year, he'd gone down to second place after Sangyeol had transferred to their school, something that Seungmin had not taken lightly. Especially, since Sangyeol had turned out to be a sleazeball that had tried to break him and Hyunjin up.

"What about you guys?" There it was. The question Jisung had dreaded so much. "I got an A", Renjun informed the youngest Ravenclaw. Jisung practically felt Seungmin's questioning eyes on him. "I got a P, no big deal", he finally said.

"Well, I hate to say this, but this probably wouldn't have happened if you had studied. I told you so", Seungmin answered. He didn't sound particularly spiteful but Jisung still got pissed off at the unnecessary comment. "Did you really hate to say it though?" he snapped. Renjun sighed. "Don't fight again", he warned.

"No, I'm tired of this! We get it, Seungmin! You're a fucking model-student. I'm just not, okay? There's absolutely no fucking need for you to gloat like this!" Jisung spat at his best friend who just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm merely pointing out that you could have done better", Seungmin answered.

"You didn't have to! It's fucking annoying", Jisung told him, trying not to raise his voice in the middle of the corridor. "Aw, so now you're annoyed? I've been watching you worm your way through school for the past 2 years. It's about time it comes back to bite you in the ass!" Seungmin retorted, getting more pissed by the second as well.

"Wow, some friend you are! First, you're out here gloating and now you're telling me that I'm just getting what I deserve? Why don't you just fuck off and go live in your happy honeymoon bubble with Hyunjin and leave me the fuck alone?" Jisung yelled. "Gladly! Like I said, at least Hyunjin fucking cares about his grades."

Jisung huffed. " _Lovely_ , then you can annoy him with your perfect score", he snapped. "Please excuse me, I've lost my appetite!" he addressed Renjun. "There you go with the running again!" Seungmin shouted. "Fuck off, Seungmin!"

Renjun followed Jisung, holding him back by his sleeve. "Was that necessary?" he asked, looking back in the opposite direction where Seungmin had just disappeared, probably continuing his way down to the Great Hall. "Yes, it was! He's annoying the shit out of me lately and I'm tired of him acting like he's better than me", Jisung said, still beyond pissed.

"Still, you should go and eat something", Renjun told him. "I'm not hungry. You go though. I think I'm just gonna go down to the field for a bit", Jisung replied. "Ji-" "I'll be alright, okay? Don't worry and go get something to eat", the younger interrupted his boyfriend who looked at him like he wanted to argue. He seemed to decide against it though.

"Fine. But please make up with Seungmin when you next see him. This is not how things should be", Renjun mumbled the last part. "I will once he gets his fucking head out of his ass!" Jisung said. The older sighed. "Fine, then..."

~

Hyunjin was sure he'd never seen his boyfriend fuming like this. He all but stormed into the Great Hall, flopping down on his seat next to Hyunjin, barely acknowledging him. "Who peed into your pumpkin juice?" Hyunjin asked him, promptly shutting his mouth when Seungmin glared at him. He watched Seungmin angrily pour himself some actual pumpkin juice and help himself to some food. He picked up his fork, paused, and then slammed the fork back down onto the table.

"Jisung's such an  _asshat_!" he exclaimed. Hyunjin raised his eyebrows, not having expected that. "Did you two fight again?" he questioned. "He yelled at me because he's pissed about getting a bad grade! Like I didn't tell him", Seungmin told the older. Hyunjin thought carefully about his next words, not wanting to upset his boyfriend any further.

"Did you tell him that you told him so?" he asked. Seungmin's jaw tightened. "I might have...", he admitted. Hyunjin shut his eyes in defeat for a second. "Well, I don't think anybody likes to hear that. Especially from their best friend." "I don't care! I have tried to warn him. I have tried to play nice and I've even offered him help before. He doesn't get to snap at me when it's his own fucking fault that he's failing!"

"Calm down, love, I'm not trying to fight with you", Hyunjin said, taking one of Seungmin's balled fists into his hands. Seungmin visibly relaxed at the touch and let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry, I'm just so mad at him. He's going to ruin his future...", he said, already much calmer than before. "It was one test. This is not worth getting into a fight over", Hyunjin tried to reason with him. Seungmin didn't answer.

Renjun joined them at the table. "Where's Jisung?" Hyunjin questioned. Renjun shrugged. "Went to practice for a bit...", he replied. Hyunjin heard Seungmin huff and mumble "of course, he did." Renjun seemed to have heard it too, because he looked at Seungmin with a displeased expression. "Enough already. You two are acting like children! He's your best friend so instead of fighting about silly bullshit, how about you just get your act together and make up!"

"Why am I not surprised that you're taking his side in this again?" Seungmin snapped. Renjun rolled his eyes. "You know what, fuck you. I'm not here for this. I might not even be here at all soon. I'm fucking done with all of you", he said and got up again. Hyunjin exchanged a wide-eyed look with Seungmin as Renjun stormed off.

"What did he mean by that?" Seungmin asked him but Hyunjin had no idea. "I'm worried. I'm gonna go check on him", he said and rose from his seat. "Okay", the younger said. Hyunjin quickly followed his best friend who now sat on the floor next to the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Junnie...I'm sorry about what happened just now", Hyunjin apologized, crouching down in front of his friend who just shook his head. "I didn't mean to go off like this, I'm just stressed out", Renjun answered. He actually looked close to tears, causing Hyunjin to pull him into a hug. "Want to talk about it?"

Renjun didn't say anything for a few minutes. Hyunjin heard him sniffle a few times and proceeded to rub soothing circles into his back. "I might be leaving...", Renjun finally said. Hyunjin halted his movements and pulled back to look at him. "What do you mean?" he questioned. Renjun exhaled shakily.

"Last month my parents told me that they were getting a divorce", he told Hyunjin, whose expression morphed from shocked to sympathetic. "Oh no, I'm so sorry...", he said. "That's not all, though. My father's moving back to China and he wants me to come along so I can finish school there. He's convinced that the education system is better there because it's eight years instead of seven...", Renjun explained.

Hyunjin didn't know what to say to that. Renjun might be moving back to China?

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hyunjin asked him. "Because I don't know what to do. He gave me a choice, it's not like I  _have_  to go. But he's my dad and I'm going to miss him if he moves to another country. On the other hand, I don't want to switch schools. I love it here...I'm just so torn and it's stressing me out and now Seungmin and Jisung are fighting which is not making things better. I don't know if I'm gonna graduate with them. I just want everyone to get along...", Renjun told him, sounding desperate.

"When do you have to make a decision?" Hyunjin questioned. Renjun lowered his head. "My father gave me until the end of the week. I don't know what to do, Jinnie...", he said. Hyunjin pulled his friend in for another hug. He didn't know what to tell him. Obviously, he wanted him to stay. But he knew that Renjun treasured his father very much and it would break his heart to live so far away from him.

"Can you tell Seungmin that I'm sorry for snapping at him?" Renjun muttered, his voice muffled by Hyunjin's robes. The Slytherin chuckled a little. "Of course...I don't think he took it personally", he replied. "He and Jisung better make up soon...", Renjun said. Hyunjin hummed in agreement.

"I wish I could help you make a decision...but I'm obviously biased", Hyunjin replied, causing his friend to laugh quietly. "I'll take that into consideration..."

~

Jisung and Seungmin continued to avoid each other over the next two days. Seungmin had apologized to Renjun, since those two had apparently fought as well, but he would still spend his nights at the Slytherin dorm, not speaking a single word to Jisung. Despite telling Renjun that he couldn't care less, he knew that the older could see right through his lies. Of course, fighting with his best friend was affecting Jisung.

On top of that, Renjun was still acting weird about something, but every time Jisung tried to bring it up he waved off and told him he was fine. So now they were both lying about something. Great.

"Are you not going to make up with Seungmin already?" Hyunjin asked him one afternoon three days after their fight when the Slytherin team had just finished up practice, ready to pass the field on to the Ravenclaws. "I don't have time for that right now", Jisung said. "Well, too bad! It's annoying and petty. That goes for both of you", Hyunjin told him. "I'm not the only one who thinks like that! Renjun's already got enough on his plate without your idiotic fight!"

That got Jisung's attention. What did Hyunjin know? "What do you mean?" he asked, alarmed. "I mean that he might be leaving this school and the least his friends could do is to get along!" Hyunjin snapped. Jisung's eyes widened. Leaving this school? Why would Renjun be leaving the school?

"His father might take him to China with him to finish school there. It's not sure if he's going yet, but he's stressing out about making a decision and you guys aren't making it much easier for him", Hyunjin explained like he'd read Jisung's mind.

"I have to go", Jisung said, already turning on his heel. "Hey, what about practice?" Eunbin shouted. "Postponed until tomorrow. Have a nice afternoon!" Jisung told his team before taking off. He had to find Renjun first.

Luckily, it didn't take him long to locate his boyfriend. He was in the common room, seemingly studying. "Can I talk to you?" Jisung asked, making Renjun look up. He looked confused but got up, nonetheless, following Jisung up to their dorms. The younger looked around checking if it was empty, which it was.

"Hyunjin told you, didn't he?" Renjun asked when Jisung turned around to face him. The latter nodded and sat down on his bed with Renjun following suit. "Why didn't  _you_  tell me? It's why you've been so distracted, right?" Jisung asked. He wasn't trying to sound accusatory; he just didn't understand why he didn't hear the news directly from his boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, I know I should have. I just...I already told Hyunjin this, but I don't know what to do. I want to be close to my father, but I also want to stay here...with you", Renjun said. Jisung lowered his head. "I'm sorry for adding to your stress with my stupid attitude and that fight with Seungmin", he apologized, feeling incredibly guilty.

"Just make up with him again...", Renjun encouraged him. "It's not that easy. I was an asshole to him", Jisung said. "And he was one to you. Just apologize", the older said. Jisung leaned into his side, wrapping his arms around his middle, side-hugging him. He didn't want Renjun to leave. It was a selfish thing to think, but he couldn't even imagine graduating without Renjun around.

"I have to make a decision by tomorrow...", Renjun said. Jisung looked up at him, his arms still wrapped around him. "What are you going to do?" he questioned, fearing the answer. Renjun sighed. "I don't know..."

~

Surprisingly, it was Seungmin who sought out Jisung first. The same evening – Jisung had cuddled Renjun to sleep – Seungmin entered the Ravenclaw common room where Jisung was actually doing his homework. He sat down into the armchair next to Jisung's and looked at him.

"I'm sorry for how I acted", he finally said. Jisung put his homework aside and faced Seungmin. "Me too. I guess I was just pissed that you were right about me slacking off", he admitted. "Still, I could have been nicer about it. I was just really worried about you...", Seungmin told him. Jisung smiled a little. It seemed like they had both overreacted big time.

He opened his arms silently and Seungmin laughed before rising from his seat and dramatically throwing himself into Jisung's embrace, almost knocking them both over along with Jisung's armchair. "Missed you, you smartass", Jisung admitted. "I missed you too, idiot", Seungmin replied.

"Well, if this isn't the cutest thing I've seen all night", a slightly hoarse voice suddenly commented from behind them, causing them to pull apart. A sleepy Renjun stood there, grinning. "Hey, are you feeling better?" Seungmin asked him. Renjun nodded and squeezed himself onto the armchair with the two of them. Luckily, both Renjun and Seungmin were light as feathers otherwise Jisung would have been crushed underneath their combined weight.

"I made a decision...", Renjun said, causing the atmosphere to grow more serious again. Jisung looked at him, both anticipating and fearing his next words. Renjun's smile widened. "I've decided to stay in Hogwarts", he said. Seungmin and Jisung cheered and pulled him in for a messy hug.

"But wait...what about your dad?" Jisung suddenly remembered. Renjun's smile dimmed a little. "I figured that I can see him over the holidays. It makes no sense for me to switch schools so late...on top of that, my future is here", he explained. "I'm going to miss my dad, but I can't just pack up my whole life and leave the country. It also wouldn't be fair to my mother..."

"I'm glad you're staying. I don't think I could bear Jisung alone!" Seungmin joked, yelping when Jisung pinched him in the side. Renjun only laughed when the two of them started bickering. This was so much better than actual fighting, Jisung thought.

Eventually, Seungmin got off Jisung's lap and brushed himself off. "I should go to bed. It's pretty late", he announced. Renjun subconsciously got more comfortable now that he had Jisung's lap all to himself. "Don't stay up too late", Seungmin warned them before heading up to the dorms. The common room was empty by now, most of the Ravenclaws had gone to bed since it really had gotten late. Jisung looked at Renjun.

"I'm really happy you're staying", he told the older. Renjun shifted in his lap so that he could wrap his arms around his neck before leaning in to kiss him. The younger Ravenclaw's hands came to a rest on his hips. "So am I...I think I'd miss you too much if I left", Renjun admitted once they pulled back, causing Jisung to smile.

"Now, finish your homework", Renjun said, suddenly climbing of his lap. Jisung pouted. "Hey, get back here!" he whined. The older only grinned and shook his head as he sat down in the other armchair. "No more kisses until you finish your essay." "You're mean", Jisung complained, but picked his parchment back up.

Maybe this was the most efficient way for him to get his stuff done, he figured.

~

"I swear to god, if you guys ever fight about this kind of silly stuff again, I'll really move to China!" Renjun said the next day at breakfast. Hyunjin chuckled. "I'm coming with you", he said, causing Seungmin to latch onto his arm. "Don't you dare!" The Slytherin cooed at his boyfriend and pecked his nose.

"Gross", Jisung commented, earning himself glares from the couple but he only laughed them off.

The owls flew into the Great Hall with the morning mail, surprisingly dropping something off for all four of them. "Are these...", Hyunjin trailed off with wide eyes, looking at the other three. They had each gotten a fancy-looking envelope with their names written on them in golden letters.

Jisung grinned knowingly. "Wedding invitations!" he finished the Slytherin's sentence, opening the envelope and pulling out the card.

_Together with their families_

_Kim Woojin_

_&_

_Myoui Mina_

_would like to invite you to their wedding_

_on April 4, 2019 at 4 PM_

_at the Grove Feather Hotel in London_

"It's finally happening", Renjun exclaimed cheerfully. Even though the wedding was still a good three months away, Jisung couldn't help but be excited.

Woojin and Mina were finally getting married!

 


	13. I am [done]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE THE LAST UPDATE I'M SO SORRY!  
> On top of that, this is just a filler but yay it's minchan!!!  
> We're currently working on a longer one shot for this series which is why there has been such a big break between updates. Hopefully that one will be done soon and then we'll HOPEFULLY get back into the groove of things  
> For now though, I hope you enjoy this filler

 

“Alright team, good work!”

Chan let out an exhausted sigh as he made his way into the changing room with his fellow trainees. Today’s practice had been running late and it had been draining as hell, which he usually didn’t mind. Becoming a professional Quidditch player had always been a big dream of his, but lately he hadn’t really been looking forward to coming to practice anymore. He wasn’t really sure why, but he had somehow imagined it to feel more like a dream come true, despite not being in the team’s starting lineup yet.

“Today was rough!” his teammate, Bambam, said as he changed out of his Quidditch uniform. Chan hummed in agreement. “I honestly can’t wait to get home and take a relaxing bath”, he muttered. More importantly, he couldn’t wait to get home to Minho. He hadn’t seen the younger since last night, since he’d had some kind of training session at the Ministry.

Bambam chuckled like he’d read his thoughts. “I’m sure your man’s down for that.” Chan smiled. Minho was most definitely down for that. “You okay, though, bro?” Bambam questioned, catching Chan’s exhausted expression. The slightly younger boy only nodded. “Just tired, is all. I’m heading out”, he announced, deciding to change at home. He waved at the rest of his team and made his way out of the training building.

Chan was glad that he’d gotten a license pretty much as soon as he’d graduated from Hogwarts. He didn’t think he’d survive taking public transportation home after long training sessions. Minho was always a bit worried about him driving when he was tired, but Chan always assured him that he would be fine. He was a responsible driver and if he was  _too_  tired, he could still take the subway.

Chan drove home quickly, eager to see his boyfriend after the day he’d had. He was immediately greeted by their cat when he stepped through the front door. He smiled and crouched down to pet her as she circled around his legs, purring in delight. “Hi, Lizzie, I missed you, too”, he told her with a small chuckle.

Minho poked his head out of the bedroom, his face lighting up when he saw Chan. “Welcome home, Channie”, he said, walking over and properly greeting him with a kiss. “Sorry I’m late. I’ll get started on dinner in a minute”, Chan told him, feeling apologetic about being home past 9. His boyfriend had probably had an equally as stressful day and was most likely hungry. He knew how much Minho hated to eat alone, so he usually waited for Chan and vice versa.

“Don’t be silly, you just got home! Get some rest and I’ll make dinner”, Minho said, already gently pushing him into the living room and towards the couch where Chan immediately slumped down. “When did you get home?” he questioned sleepily. “About an hour ago”, Minho replied as he shuffled towards the kitchen.

“Then should I really be the one to rest on the couch?” Chan questioned, raising his voice a little for Minho to be able to hear him in the next room. “I’m fine. I took a nap at the office”, Minho replied. Chan knew that Minho loved being an auror but sometimes he was a little bit worried about how intense his training was. Then again, he shouldn’t be the one complaining when his own training was so draining.

He had almost dozed off on the couch when Minho returned with a small tray that held two bowls of soup and some bread which he set down on the coffee table. “Don’t fall asleep just yet, babe. You probably haven’t eaten all day!” Minho half-scolded him, though with a fond expression on his face at the sight of his sleepy boyfriend.

“Not true, I had a sandwich for lunch”, Chan argued, sliding off the couch to sit on the floor since the coffee table was a little bit too low for comfort. Minho went to get them some water before claiming his seat next to Chan.

Chan winced a little when he reached for his soup bowl, a dull pain erupting in his shoulder from when he’d bumped into another player. “Rough day at training?” Minho asked. “Kind of...the weather wasn’t the best either”, Chan said honestly. Minho looked at him worriedly, his eyes wandering to his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Are you okay, though? Is it bad?” The older waved off. “It’s probably just gonna bruise a little, nothing serious”, he assured Minho.

They started eating, Minho still throwing occasional worried glances at Chan. “Tell me about your day”, Chan finally spoke up, hoping to divert his boyfriend’s attention from his bruised shoulder for a while. “Oh, it was nothing special. Some people called in some suspicious activities in nocturn alley, so they sent me and Eunseo to look into it”, Minho told him.   

“And did you catch some bad guys?” Chan questioned, making his boyfriend chuckle. “No. There were just some shady people holding some kind of meeting in a store. They claimed it was a Dark Arts convention, but the department is going to continue looking into it. They don’t really tell the rookies all the juicy details, but I really hope it’s nothing too serious”, Minho said.

“Also, they said something about a work trip to the States towards the end of the year. I don't know any of the details yet, but they said it’s gonna be big.” Chan smiled tiredly. “That sounds really interesting though”, he answered. He yawned, though he tried to suppress it, not wanting to seem like he wasn’t interested in hearing about Minho’s day.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should go to sleep”, Minho suggested, casting a worried glance at his boyfriend again. Chan rested his head on the younger’s shoulder, sighing. “No, it’s okay...it’s just...”, he trailed off. “It’s not that great, actually”, he finally admitted. Minho made a questioning noise.

“What’s not that great? Quidditch?” he asked. Chan sat up straight again and nodded his head. He hadn’t told anyone about this so far, thinking that maybe the feeling would pass, but now that he had brought it up to Minho, he was pretty sure about it. “Why? What’s wrong?” the younger questioned, facing Chan with his whole body.

“I don’t know, I’m just not really happy with the choice I’ve made”, Chan said, shrugging. Minho tilted his head. “Like with the team or in general?” “In general. The team’s great, but I thought I could turn my hobby into my job, and it turns out that I actually don’t like it very much. It’s not fun anymore”, he explained himself.  

Minho put a comforting hand on his thigh. “You don’t  _have_  to do this, Channie. Why don’t you try finding something else that actually makes you happy?”

Chan lowered his head. “I just didn’t want to disappoint you”, he mumbled, but Minho still understood him. “Disappoint me? Why would you think I’d be disappointed?” he questioned, confused by his boyfriend’s words. “I mean, I guess I just wanted to pull through with this to make you proud. I wanted to be your famous Quidditch player boyfriend”, he admitted.

Minho didn’t know what to say for a while. Chan looked so genuinely upset at the thought of giving up what he’d thought was his dream. And all because he’d been scared to disappoint Minho? He opted for pulling Chan into a comforting hug, instantly feeling the older’s arms wrapping around his middle.

“Channie, I don’t need a famous Quidditch player boyfriend. You were determined enough to give this thing a try and you made it into a great team. There’s nothing wrong with wanting something else. I need you to be happy and to enjoy what you’re doing. Besides, I’m  _always_ proud of you. If you don’t want to play professional Quidditch then stop and find something you want to do before you wake up one day regretting your life choices”, Minho told him.

They pulled out of their hug and Minho was relieved to see that Chan was smiling a little. “Do you have anything in mind that you’d rather like to do?” Minho asked. “Well...”, Chan started sheepishly. “I think I would enjoy teaching. But if I go to Hogwarts, we wouldn’t be able to see each other most of the year...”, he said. Minho hummed in thought. That really would be a problem. “I’ve considered teaching at a muggle school, but I’d have to go to university for that and I can’t really apply with my Hogwarts grades”, Chan added.

“We’ll figure something out, I’m sure. If my baby wants to be a teacher, we’ll make him a teacher”, Minho declared, making Chan laugh and hug him again. “I don’t deserve you”, he said.

“I know I am pretty great”, Minho joked, earning himself a slight poke into the side that caused him to giggle and break apart from Chan. “Now, let’s go to sleep, shall we? Because you look like you’re about to fall over from exhaustion”, he added.

“But what about the dishes?” Chan asked him, looking at the coffee table. Minho pulled his wand from his pocket and flicked it once. Soon the dishes started to fly to the kitchen and clean themselves. “There we go”, Minho said with a pleased expression on his face. Chan only chuckled at his boyfriend.

They washed up and headed to bed soon after, falling asleep cuddling with Lizzie squeezing herself in between them.


	14. I am [cursed]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are back at last! it is me, the sister!  
> thank you so much to everyone who has been waiting for an update. you guys are too sweet T.T  
> this one took me several months to write but I'm really happy with this chapter. we get to learn a lot more about sunwoo's past and we also get a lot more jeongwoo fluff uwu
> 
> Warning: this gets a little angsty, stay safe kids!!!
> 
> anyway i'll shut up now, enjoy reading this 20k long bich!

_About 8 months ago, back in July, after Sunwoo’s fifth year in Hogwarts had come to an end, he had no choice but to return to his home. A bad feeling lingered in his stomach and it became stronger by the minute as he sat in a lonely compartment inside the Hogwarts Express, inevitably on his way to Kings Cross. From time to time, a student would peek inside his compartment to check if there was any seat available, but none of them dared to come in after they’d recognized the Slytherin._

_It didn’t surprise Sunwoo. After all, it was like this every year. He decided to distract himself by reading a book, but that also turned out to be fruitless. His eyes flew over the same exact paragraph 7 times, but his brain simply didn’t pick up its content. His mind was clouded with worries and the anxiety made his chest feel stuffy. He simply couldn’t relax._

_Sunwoo didn’t want to go back to his family and relive the same nightmare he had experienced so many times in his life. He didn’t want to hear them insult him and treat him like an abomination every single second of the day again. Couldn’t they please just let students stay at Hogwarts over summer too?_

_The Slytherin sighed deeply and looked out the window, trying not to tear up. He was going to be with his family for the next six weeks. It was inevitable._

_The train arrived sooner than Sunwoo had anticipated. The bad feeling only got even worse when he_ _retrieved his luggage, exited the train and stepped on the platform. He watched the other students hug each other goodbye before happily leaving through the magical barrier, while excitedly telling their parents all about their school year._

_His chest felt even stuffier than before and his head was spinning so much, he almost didn’t notice Hyunjin approaching him. The slightly older gave Sunwoo a quick hug and bid his goodbyes before another student approached the two of them. “Hyunjin!” he chanted excitedly and wrapped his arms around him. Sunwoo remembered his name to be Yang Jeongin and that he was a fourth year and close friend of Hyunjin’s._

_“I’ll miss you too, Jeongin!” Hyunjin chuckled at the Hufflepuff, who then let go of him and turned to smile up at Sunwoo. “What are your plans for summer vacation?” he addressed him. Sunwoo was surprised that Jeongin even bothered to talk to him, but didn’t get to think about that more, as he got reminded of the upcoming six weeks of despair._

_What were his plans for summer vacation? Trying to stay as invisible as possible? Trying to not go insane and trying to not have his parents kill him? He couldn’t really say that. “Well… I’ll probably just stay in my room and do nothing all day…” Sunwoo ended up replying as Hyunjin gave him a knowing look._

_He talked to those two for a little longer before they eventually got picked up by their parents. After a few more minutes of standing around and waiting, Sunwoo’s driver appeared and led him to the car that was going to take him ‘home’. Sunwoo just hoped that he would be able to make it back the next year…_

~

“…and class dismissed”, Professor Binns announced, ripping Sunwoo out of the nap he had decided to take in this History of Magic class. The students around him rose from their seats, cautiously keeping their distance from him, as usual, while Sunwoo let his history book slip back into his bag.

After leaving the classroom, the Slytherin hurried to his common room to leave his bag there before heading outside again to meet up with his boyfriend Jeongin by the Quidditch field. The latter had invited Sunwoo to watch him at Quidditch practice before going on something like a date in the Room of Requirements. Sunwoo’s heart jumped at the thought. Spending time with Jeongin always seemed to lift his spirits by at least 95%.

“There you are, Sunwoo!” Jeongin jumped up from his seat in front of the locker rooms and smiled when he noticed his boyfriend walk towards him and greeted him with a hug. “Sorry for being a bit late… did you wait for a long time?” the taller asked after Jeongin had let go of him. “Not at all~ But training will start in about a minute, so I have to go get my broomstick”, he replied.

“Alright, good luck then. And be careful”, Sunwoo told him and earned a nod from the Hufflepuff before giving him a small smile as he headed for the spectator’s area to watch him from up there. The other team members soon gathered on the field and discussed some techniques before they all got on their respective broomsticks and started to practice. Time passed by quickly as Lucas gave his team some tasks and exercises to do, depending on what their position on the team was. Jeongin just had to practice finding and catching the Snitch a couple of times, since a Seeker didn’t really have anything else to do, and Sunwoo watched him from his seat. He noticed the wide smile on Jeongin’s face as he skillfully roamed through the air, his eyes scanning his surroundings for the tiny golden ball. Sunwoo couldn’t help but smile at the younger’s obvious enthusiasm for the sport.

About half an hour into practice, the weather suddenly started to get a bit rougher. The wind became a lot stronger and rain started to pour down on the players. Sunwoo didn’t mind it too much, since the spectator’s area had a roof and he didn’t feel how cold the wind was, but the team members’ yellow uniforms were already soaked. The team continued to practice, even though the wind made it a lot harder for them, especially Jeongin, who looked like he had a hard time spotting the Snitch and even bumped into another team member with his shoulder as he tried to coordinate through the rain. It looked pretty painful, but the both of them just continued their practice, nonetheless.

A few more minutes after that, Lucas finally told them to return to the ground, so Sunwoo also left the spectator’s area to make his way over to Jeongin and his team.

“…I guess we got unlucky with the weather today, I didn’t know it was going to storm like this. Anyway, let’s just continue next time”, Sunwoo heard Lucas tell the others as he approached them. However, the latter’s expression darkened when he spotted the Slytherin.

“Are you alright?” Sunwoo asked Jeongin quietly. After all, his collision with that other team member did look a bit painful. “Sure, I’m okay”, the younger replied with a smile before making a face when Sunwoo carefully put a hand on his shoulder, exposing his lie. “I knew it. Let’s go to Madame Pomfrey after this”, the older told him. “No, it’s really okay, it’s just a bruise”, Jeongin assured him before Lucas interrupted them.

“Oh, I see. Of course, nothing goes right when _you’re_ around”, Lucas said to Sunwoo, giving him a condescending look, as always. The other Quidditch players took a step away from Sunwoo when they spotted him. “Why did you bring this creep here, Jeongin? Or did he curse you to invite him, so he can mess up our practice?” Lucas spat, causing Jeongin to give him a glare. “What the hell is your problem, Lucas?” he replied, taking Sunwoo’s hand.

Sunwoo mentally slapped himself. He should’ve known that it was a mistake to come down to the field when the team was still there. He should’ve known that it was going to be like this.

“ _He’s_ my problem! He keeps getting my team members hurt. Especially you, Jeongin, in case you were too blind to notice it”, Lucas said, giving Sunwoo an even more disgusting glare than before. “He didn’t even do anything!” Jeongin defended Sunwoo, causing the captain to scoff. “Yeah, knock it off, Lucas” Eric chimed in, much to Sunwoo’s surprise.

“Don’t you get it? Just him being here is enough to cause trouble. Just don’t fucking bring him here again!” Lucas yelled looking around the team for confirmation. “I bring whoever the hell I want!”

“Let’s just go, please…” Sunwoo said to Jeongin, tugging on his sleeve and avoiding everyone’s eyes. Lucas was right. It was true that he was a walking unlucky charm and he didn’t want Jeongin to lose his position on the team because of him. He didn’t want to cause any more damage than he already had.

Jeongin looked like he had a lot more to say to Lucas but held back when Sunwoo squeezed his hand. He gave Lucas one last glare before turning around to head to the lockers with Sunwoo. “Fucking creep!” they heard Lucas shout after them, just like last time.

When they arrived at the lockers, Jeongin quickly grabbed his things without letting go of his boyfriend’s hand and the two of them made their way back to the castle. Sunwoo didn’t say anything on the way back, but he looked down and lost in thought which wasn’t very surprising.

Jeongin also didn’t know what to say to him. Sunwoo always claimed that it was alright and that he was used to it but Jeongin could tell that their words still got to him. He just couldn’t believe these people. He couldn’t understand how they could be like that to Sunwoo. Or how they could be like that to anyone for that matter.

It was still raining hard, so their clothes were soaked, and their hair stuck to their foreheads by the time they arrived at the entrance hall. Sunwoo was about to climb up the great stairs to take his boyfriend to the hospital wing, but Jeongin, who was still holding his hand, held him back. The Slytherin turned around to look at him in confusion. “What are you doing, the hospital wing is that way”, he stated but Jeongin just smiled up at him.

“I told you, I’m fine. It’s really just a bruise”, he said and pulled Sunwoo in for a hug instead. “Are you sure?” he asked, wrapping his arms around Jeongin’s waist. “Yes, I’m sure”, he laughed, “Plus, I’d rather have a date with you than with Madame Pomfrey.”

Sunwoo chuckled a bit at his boyfriend’s stupid joke and pulled away from their hug to take both of his hands and smiled down at him. “You should do that more often”, Jeongin said. The Slytherin furrowed his brows, “What, get you hurt and almost make you lose your position on the Quidditch team?” he asked, earning a slap on his arm from the younger.

“No, you idiot. I meant your smile. It’s so cute”, Jeongin said and gave Sunwoo a quick kiss on his reddening cheeks. “Don’t smile at anyone else like that though! I don’t want them to fall for you”, Jeongin pouted playfully.

“I’ll only smile for you then”, Sunwoo smiled and softly kissed the younger on the lips.

Afterwards, they headed to their respective common rooms to change out of their soaked clothes into their regular robes and made their way to the Room of Requirement for their little date. They came to a halt in front of the large door and Jeongin smiled widely, pushed it open, and led Sunwoo into the room. Sunwoo’s jaw dropped as he took in the surroundings slowly appearing around him.

Apparently, Jeongin had wished for the room to turn into a place that looked like the Stone Circle near the Owlery. The ground was covered in grass and a checkered picnic blanket was placed in the center of the circle. When they looked up at what would be the sky if they were outside, they saw the clear night sky covered in what seemed like a billion stars. The large rocks were decorated with colorful lights with fireflies gathered around them. It was beautiful.

The two of them took a seat on the picnic blanket and wished for their favorite snacks to eat. Jeongin wished for Chocolate frogs and Pumpkin juice, which was his favorite combination, and Sunwoo wished for four packages of pear juice, which he then told Jeongin was his absolute favorite beverage. After they had finished those, Jeongin put his snacks aside and lied down on his back, letting his head rest in Sunwoo’s lap and looking up at the magical night sky. Sunwoo smiled down at him for a second before also looking up. They didn’t need to talk. Just being close to each other like that was enough for them.

“Sunwoo”, Jeongin softly spoke up after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “Hm?” Sunwoo replied, without taking his eyes off the stars above. “Are you really okay? Lucas said some really mean things earlier, but please don’t listen to him”, Jeongin said in a worried tone and took one of Sunwoo’s hands in his.

Sunwoo finally looked down at him again. “It’s okay. I’m used to it”, he replied but the younger didn’t seem convinced. “I don’t believe you. You’re not okay. I know that it gets to you”, he stated. His eyes started to look a bit watery as he looked up at his boyfriend.

Jeongin still didn’t know exactly what was going on with Sunwoo and why he was so secretive and mysterious. He was almost sure that there was something he didn’t tell him, but usually avoided talking about it. What Jeongin did know was that it was something bad, and that it might be the reason why Sunwoo always tried to stay away from people. Whatever it was, Jeongin wanted to help him as best as he could.

Sunwoo remained silent for a moment as he let his free hand caress Jeongin’s cheek. “I’m used to people thinking I’m weird”, he stated, making his boyfriend frown. “But why? I don’t think you’re weird, Hyunjin doesn’t think you’re weird, you’re just a normal student like everyone else in this castle. I just don’t understand… Why do they think you’re weird? Why are they so scared of you?” Jeongin asked, looking up at Sunwoo, who tensed up a bit and paused again. “That’s… very complicated, Jeongin…”, he replied, avoiding Jeongin’s eyes.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Jeongin said after another pause, giving Sunwoo’s hand a light squeeze.

But… could he really? Sunwoo wanted to trust him. He wanted to tell Jeongin everything, but he just couldn’t do it. What if Jeongin changed his mind about him when he found out? What if he pushed him away just like everyone else did? Or even worse, what if it dragged him into even more danger? Being close to Sunwoo was already dangerous enough for Jeongin.

Ever since the two of them had started dating, more and more unlucky things had started to happen to Jeongin, even if it was just something as minor as him burning his tongue on his food or accidentally putting salt into his tea instead of sugar. Jeongin got hurt way more often during Quidditch, earning a lot of bruises from it, he frequently lost things and couldn’t seem to find them, he got sick very quickly, and so on. And Sunwoo knew it was because of him, because Jeongin was close to him, because Sunwoo couldn’t stay away from him and because he was an unlucky charm.

There was no way he could tell Jeongin about it. No matter how much he wanted to get it off his chest. It was too dangerous for him. And deep down, Sunwoo was scared of Jeongin fearing him, avoiding him, leaving him.

“I’m sorry, I-I can’t…” Sunwoo eventually said, a conflicted expression on his face. Jeongin, however, gave him a patient smile. “Don’t apologize. It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I just want you to know that you can trust me. No matter what it is, it won’t change anything”, he reassured the older, whose hand was still resting on his cheek, his thumb gently caressing it. Sunwoo didn’t say anything to that and instead just gave him a grateful smile. Jeongin was still holding onto Sunwoo’s other hand and closed his eyes as he relaxed in his position. He probably didn’t realize just how much these words meant to Sunwoo.

The couple stayed in the Room of Requirement for a while longer, until Jeongin almost fell asleep on Sunwoo’s lap and they decided to head back. Jeongin claimed that he was too sleepy to walk, so Sunwoo carried him back to the Hufflepuff common room, ignoring his “I was just kidding!”, before returning to his own dorm and going to bed.

~

_“We’ve arrived”, the driver announced as the car came to a halt in front of Sunwoo’s family’s house. Sunwoo looked outside the car window and sighed deeply. He could already feel the dark energy erupting from the building._

_He exited the car and took his luggage out of the trunk before heading towards the house. When he arrived at the front door, he took one last deep breath before pushing it open. The cold aura, that always seemed to be present in that house, hit Sunwoo as soon as he entered, and he wished he could just turn around and leave again._

_His father was sitting at the table, leaning over some paperwork which was probably important ministry stuff, his mother sat across from him, reading the Daily Prophet and using her wand to do the dishes, cut vegetables and boil water at the same time, and his sister was nowhere to be seen, so she was probably in her room, busy or already asleep._

_His father didn’t bother looking up from what he was working on to register Sunwoo properly, greet him or even just give him any sort of acknowledgement. Meanwhile, his mother only gave him a quick glance and wordlessly shook her head before turning back to the Daily Prophet. However, he didn’t mind that. Not getting any attention from his parents was still better than the times when they did give him attention…_

_Sunwoo decided to get to his room quickly before his parents could change their minds and carried his luggage up the stairs. As soon as he reached his room, he let himself fall backwards onto his bed, sighing. He couldn’t wait for summer vacation to pass, because he knew that it was only going to get worse. He was exhausted from the long train ride, the drive from the station to his house and from carrying his luggage upstairs all by himself, so he soon drifted off to sleep without unpacking his luggage or changing into something more comfortable._

_-_

_As expected, the next few days went by painfully slowly. Sunwoo spent most of his time in his room, reading or doing nothing at all. At some point he was even bored enough to do his schoolwork, to the point where he had already finished all of it in the first week, leaving him with nothing else to do for the next couple of weeks._

_He avoided going downstairs, because he was scared to face his parents. They would take any opportunity they could get to show him, how unwanted, how unloved, how repelling and how much of a burden he was to them. He didn’t even go downstairs to eat, since his mother would only cook food for themselves and his sister anyway. He probably wouldn’t have eaten anything if it wasn’t for his sister Jiwoo sneaking food into his room every day._

_She was the only one in his family who didn’t hate him or treat him like a piece of trash. She would always try to make his life in that house at least a little bit easier for him, even if their parents didn’t approve of her having anything to do with Sunwoo. They were scared that he would hurt her and usually tried to keep her occupied with something to make sure she couldn’t spend much time with him._

_Over past summer vacations, Sunwoo had made it a habit to sneak out of the house before his parents woke up and spend most of his time outside. He made it past the cautious looks the neighbors in their street were giving him and went to a little secret spot he had found about a year ago, a quiet place from where he could see the whole town. It was a little bit like a junkyard, full of abandoned furniture, old cars and more stuff like that. He usually spent multiple hours there, reading a book, playing the piano he found there or studying._

_One time, when he headed back after the sun had already set, he quietly opened the front door, hoping that his parents were already asleep, but, of course, he got unlucky. His mother was in the kitchen, apparently talking to a friend she had invited over or something. Of course, they didn’t register him at all, but while Sunwoo hurried to his room, he couldn’t help but overhear them talk about him._

_“Right, how is the situation with that cursed child going?” his mother’s friend asked, not bothering to keep her voice down, even though she knew Sunwoo was there. His mother sighed in an annoyed manner. “Every day, I wish I would’ve drowned him as a baby. He’s bringing so much shame over our family. I can’t wait for the marriage, that’ll finally get him out of this house”, she said coldly, and her friend just nodded and hummed in agreement._

_Sunwoo stopped in front of his room for a second when he heard that. He could faintly hear his mother add something his mind was too cloudy to understand, and he quickly entered his room. He leaned his back against the closed door and carelessly let his bag slide off his shoulder and fall to the ground next to him. He didn’t want to cry. He didn’t want to be weak. He didn’t want to let it get to him. But it did._

_His mother’s cold voice kept ringing in his head and no matter how hard he’d tried to think about something else, he couldn’t. Maybe she was right. Maybe it would’ve been better if he hadn’t been born at all. All he ever did was scare people, put them in danger, hurt them._

_It was not his fault and it was so unfair, but there was nothing he could do about it. There was no cure, no solution, no hope. His family hated him, his neighbors avoided him and even his fellow students wanted nothing to do with him. Sunwoo quickly wiped away the tear running down his face and went to bed, trying to quickly fall into a dreamless sleep._

_~_

Sunwoo woke up with a start, feeling breathless. He’d thought he was used to the nightmares by now, but they had gotten a lot worse than usual ever since he and Jeongin had started dating. Usually, his nightmares were surreal versions of memories of the harm he’d caused people before he’d started going to Hogwarts, but they’d never felt this real before. He didn’t understand why he kept dreaming about last summer.

His body tensed up and his hands balled to fists at the memory. Was it because of the conversation he’d had with Jeongin yesterday? Was it simply a reminder that he wasn’t supposed to get close to anyone? Or a reminder that he was dragging Jeongin into the danger that surrounded him?

Sunwoo didn’t know what he would do if Jeongin got really hurt because of him. Or even…

He quickly shook the thought out of his head and decided to get up. Hyunjin’s and his other dormmates’ beds were empty, probably meaning that they were at breakfast already. Sunwoo decided to wash up and make his way to the Great Hall as well.

He didn’t feel hungry, but he wanted to see Jeongin.

When he arrived, he let his eyes scan the Slytherin table and quickly found his boyfriend sitting there by himself, having some toast. Sunwoo felt himself ease up as soon as he saw him but hesitated before making his way over to him.

Deep down, he knew that someone like him could never deserve someone like Jeongin, that he was supposed keep his distance from Jeongin, but the way his entire day just brightened up whenever he saw him just made him too selfish to actually do so.

Sunwoo decided to finally walk over to the Slytherin table, giving Jeongin a smile before sitting down across from him.

“Good morning!”, Jeongin said cheerfully and leaned over the table to give his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning”, Sunwoo replied, about to reach for the glass of grape juice the younger had apparently already prepared for him, when he noticed a bandage on his left wrist.

“Is that a bandage? What happened?” Sunwoo asked, causing Jeongin to look down to the injury. “Oh, that’s nothing. I just sprained my wrist a bit when I fell down the stairs this morning”, Jeongin explained, chuckling awkwardly and dismissing the subject with his healthy hand while attempting to hide the other one underneath the table.

Sunwoo’s eyes widened. “Y-you fell down the stairs!? Oh my god, are you okay?”, he exclaimed in shock and carefully pushed back the sleeve of Jeongin’s robe to look for any other bruises. All he found were the ones he had gotten from Quidditch practice, which didn’t worry him any less. He knew that it was his fault that Jeongin kept getting hurt and he felt horrible because of it.

Jeongin, however, simply chuckled at his boyfriend’s worried expression and took his hands. “Don’t worry about it so much. I’m okay and it doesn’t even hurt that much anymore! I just need to be more careful from now on” he said reassuringly but Sunwoo still seemed just as worried as before, looking down at their hands.

“I’m sorry, Jeongin… It’s all my fault…” he mumbled, slowly pulling his hands away from Jeongin’s. The Hufflepuff furrowed his brows in confusion.

“But that’s nonsense, you weren’t even…” he started but trailed off when Sunwoo rose from his seat. “Sorry, Jeongin, I-I forgot my Charms book at the dorm. I’ll go get it before class starts… I’ll… see you later”, he apologized quickly, turned on his heel, hurried past Hyunjin and Seungmin, who were just about to join them at the Slytherin table, and left the Great Hall before Jeongin could say anything else.

Hyunjin’s eyes followed Sunwoo for a moment before he looked at Jeongin, furrowing his eyes at the pouting Hufflepuff. “What’s wrong, didn’t he just get here?” Hyunjin asked as him and Seungmin took a seat across from Jeongin. “Yeah, we wanted to join you two, what happened?” the Ravenclaw added.

“I really don’t know either… I just told him that I sprained my wrist this morning and he became really worried and apologized to me”, Jeongin explained, still pouting. “He’s probably just worried about you. You’ve been getting hurt a lot recently”, Hyunjin figured and put some delicious-looking toast on Seungmin’s plate, earning a smile from the younger, before grabbing some pancakes for himself. Jeongin sighed and directed a concerned look at the grape juice that Sunwoo hadn’t even touched.

“Yeah, but he keeps saying that it’s his fault, even when he had absolutely nothing to do with it. He gets so… careful with me whenever it happens. He won’t even touch my hands because he thinks he might hurt me if he does”, the Hufflepuff added before letting out another sigh. “I know there’s something he’s not telling me. Something important. And I need to know what it is so I can help him, but I also don’t want to pressure him…”

Seungmin thought about Jeongin’s words for a moment before giving him a reassuring smile. “Just give him some time. I’m sure he’ll tell you eventually if it’s really that important”, he concluded. Jeongin nodded and a small smile returned to his face. “You’re probably right… I’ll do that”, he replied and finished his breakfast.

_~_

Jeongin decided not to think about it too much and made his way to his next class, which happened to be History of Magic with the Gryffindors. Most of the seats were already taken by other students, either happily chatting or groaning about how boring this class was going to be, but luckily, Jeongin spotted an empty seat next to Daehwi.

The Hufflepuff smiled at the slightly older boy as he made his way over there and sat down next to him, sliding his bookbag off his shoulder. “Daehwi, hi!” Jeongin chirped, unpacking his History of Magic book. “H-hi Jeongin”, Daehwi replied, shifting awkwardly in his seat.

The two of them hadn’t really spent much time together lately, and the air between them was a bit awkward. It was understandable. Daehwi probably didn’t know what to say to Jeongin, he had been turned down by him after all. And it was also partly Jeongin’s fault for not making an effort to approach his friend sooner, but he’d wanted to give him some space first. He didn’t want to be all up in his face about him and Sunwoo being a thing.

Sunwoo…

Jeongin pouted a little bit when he remembered what had happened at breakfast just about half an hour ago. He’d gotten so upset and distant when Jeongin had told him about his wrist and hurried to his class so quickly… The Hufflepuff couldn’t help but worry about him. Was he really okay?

Jeongin sighed to himself, causing Daehwi to look at him. “What’s wrong, Jeongin?” he asked, making Jeongin snap out of his thoughts. “Oh, it’s nothing, I just sprained my wrist this morning…”

“Really, why didn’t you heal yourself?” Daehwi asked, taking a closer look at Jeongin’s wrist. “I tried, but lately I haven’t been able to heal myself properly. Last time I tried I got a rash on my legs…” the Hufflepuff replied with a pout.

Daehwi thought for a second. “Then… why didn’t you just go to Madame Pomfrey?” “I don’t want to risk it getting worse again… that rash was really annoying…” Jeongin explained before pausing and gnawing on his lower lip. “Plus… I don’t want Sunwoo to get worried. He always blames himself whenever I get hurt”, he added.

“Sunwoo, huh…” Daehwi started. “I’ve heard a lot of bad things about him, so I didn’t know what to think of you dating him but… he seems to make you really happy”, he concluded with a small smile. Jeongin couldn’t help but feel relieved because of those words. At first, he almost regretted bringing up Sunwoo in front of Daehwi because he didn’t know how the older would react, but he was really glad to hear him say that.

“Thanks, Daehwi… you’re one of the very few people in this castle who seem to think like that”, he said, returning his best friend’s smile. It was true. Almost every student in Hogwarts disliked Sunwoo because of those stupid rumors some gossip-thirsty people spread. Some of them still told Jeongin to stay away from Sunwoo because they “heard he’s a descendant of the Dark Lord” or asked him how he’s not scared of him. Once, a guy from his year even said that dating Sunwoo made Jeongin just as creepy as him.

“Well, if you like him, he can’t be that bad”, Daehwi chuckled encouragingly, before Professor Binns entered the classroom through the wall and started his lesson.

~

After lunch, Jeongin decided to roam around in the dungeons in hopes of running into Sunwoo somewhere. He hadn’t seen him anywhere at lunch and wanted to make sure he was okay. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long before the older came down the stairs, probably on the way to his common room. Jeongin smiled to himself in excitement and approached his boyfriend.

“Jeongin”, the Slytherin said as soon as he spotted him. “I’m sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean to be like that. It’s just…” Sunwoo apologized quickly and looked like he wanted to add something but decided against it. The younger would be a liar if he said he wasn’t curious, but he decided not to ask about it. “It’s okay”, Jeongin smiled and stepped closer to his boyfriend to give him a hug, “I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not?” the older replied in a confused tone, making him chuckle a bit. “No, I actually wanted to ask you something”, Jeongin said, pulling away a bit to smile up at Sunwoo, who was now giving him a questioning look.

“The thing is, my older brother is getting married and of course he invited me to come home for the ceremony this weekend. He also said to bring you along because he and my parents want to meet you!” Jeongin announced excitedly, his arms still wrapped around Sunwoo’s neck. “T-They want to meet me? Jeongin, I don’t-”

The Slytherin didn’t get to finish his sentence of protest as Jeongin’s expression changed to that of a sad puppy asking for his favorite treat. Sunwoo hesitated, figuring someone like him probably shouldn’t attend a wedding, but at the same time he just couldn’t say no to Jeongin. Especially not when he used his puppy eyes on him. So, eventually, he sighed in defeat and agreed to be Jeongin’s date for the wedding, causing the younger to jump in excitement, before planting a kiss on his lips. Jeongin gave him some more details about the wedding and how they were going to get to his house and back.

“I actually have to go to my dorm room now… Professor McGonagall wants us to hand in an essay about Untransfigurations tomorrow”, Sunwoo sighed, reluctant to leave already. Jeongin pouted and paused for a second before his smile returned. “Can I come with you?” he asked happily.

“To my dorm room?” “Yes! I’ve never been inside the Slytherin common room before”, Jeongin explained. The older seemed to think about it for a moment and then nodded, smiling. “Alright, why not.”

~

“Wow, your dorm room is so nice!” Jeongin exclaimed, looking around the room in awe and taking in his surroundings. “You think so?” Sunwoo smiled, set his bag down on his bed and took a seat as he watched his boyfriend excitedly explore his dorm room.

“Is this Hyunjin’s bed? Oh- it must be. There’s a picture of Seungmin and him on the nightstand. How cute!” he observed. He looked around for a little longer before he sat down next to Sunwoo and checked out his nightstand as well. There was a stack of books, a nightlight and the Christmas card he had received from Jeongin the month before.

Jeongin smiled at him. “You still have this!” he said, making Sunwoo smile as well. “Of course I still have it. It’s my first ever Christmas card after all” the Slytherin replied. “Plus… it’s from you”, he added, and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks.

Not long after, Sunwoo had started working on his Transfigurations assignment, his back resting against his pillowcase and sitting in a cross-legged position, while Jeongin had occupied himself by reading one of the many works from the pile of books on the Slytherin’s nightstand. The two of them didn’t speak a word for several hours, but, as usual, it was a very comfortable and relaxing silence. They didn’t need to talk to enjoy each other’s presence.

Eventually, Sunwoo stretched and let his finally finished assignment slide into his bag. He then yawned and checked the time, realizing how long he had worked on it. “It’s getting late, Jeongin, you should probably go to…”

He interrupted himself when he looked at the younger, fast asleep with the book he was reading resting on his chest and his hands loosely holding onto it. Sunwoo smiled at the sight and sighed quietly. “…sleep.”

He looked around the room, noticing that his dormmates hadn’t returned yet, before carefully taking the book from Jeongin’s hands. The younger didn’t notice a thing. He couldn’t help but fondly smile to himself as he softly moved some of the black hair out of his boyfriend’s face and gently let his hand caress his cheek. He didn’t know how Jeongin still managed to look like an angel, even in the dim green lighting and cold atmosphere that was always lingering around the Slytherin common room.

Sunwoo took a moment to contemplate whether he should carry Jeongin to his own dorm but decided against it when he looked at his boyfriend sleeping so peacefully. He didn’t want to wake him. Instead, he drew the dark green curtains of his bed, grabbed one of the spare blankets from his bedside drawer and covered the Hufflepuff in it, before lying down next to him, looking at him for a few more seconds before pressing a soft kiss on his cheek and eventually drifting off to sleep.

~

_“I don’t know what kind of spell that weirdo cast on Yang Jeongin, but now he’s just as weird as Kim Sunwoo himself.”_

_“Yeah, I can’t believe he’s still dating him. I thought it was a joke.”_

_“Hyunjin probably only added him to the Quidditch team because he knew the other players would be scared of him. That’s his winning strategy.”_

_“Wow, I can’t believe him.”_

_“Don’t be too loud. If he hears you, he might tell Sunwoo to push you down the stairs or something.”_

_“And I thought Jeongin was better than this…”_

Jeongin tried not to listen or react to those students talking about him and Sunwoo as he walked past them on his way to the library the next day. These kinds of comments weren’t anything out of the ordinary, but he still had a hard time ignoring them.

He just wanted to tell them that Sunwoo really wasn’t like that, and that he never cursed Jeongin or anything, but of course he knew that they wouldn’t believe him. Whenever he defended Sunwoo in front of them, they would say that ‘it’s the curse talking’, so he’d given up on trying to reason with them.

He didn’t actually care what they said about him. He didn’t really know them anyway. He just wished they would stop making up and spreading those stupid rumors about Sunwoo when they’d probably never exchanged a single word with him before. Just thinking about it brought a frown to Jeongin’s face as he hugged his bookbag closer to his chest. They didn’t know how sweet, caring and adorable Sunwoo actually was. They’d never even given him a chance to show that, and Jeongin just couldn’t understand why they were like that.

_“I’m telling you, sooner or later, Jeongin is going to get really hurt because of him. But at least then I’ll get to say ‘I told you so’-”_

“You wanna say that to my fucking face, you cowards? You better skedaddle before _you_ get very hurt because of _me_ ”, Felix suddenly said, walking up to the gossiping students, threateningly lifting the book he was holding. Jeongin hadn’t even heard the Gryffindor coming, but his words seemed to work. The students scoffed at him but scattered anyway after Felix gave them a few more glares. He then sighed and turned to look at Jeongin.

“Thank you, Felix. I didn’t even realize you were here”, Jeongin told him and Felix waved off, giving him a bright smile. “I couldn’t just stand there and listen to them talk trash to you”, he replied. The younger smiled in return.

“But… are you okay? Why didn’t you say anything to them?” Felix asked, matching his walking speed with the Hufflepuff whose smile faded a bit. “Well… no matter what I say to them, they never really listen anyway, so I try to just ignore them”, he explained, “They don’t know what they’re talking about anyway.”

Felix nodded. “Yeah, the gossip is crazy around this castle. These people will just latch onto anything they can talk shit about. I never understood what their problem with Sunwoo is though”, he said. “I don’t know him that well, but he seems like a pretty cool guy to me”, the Gryffindor added with a shrug.

Jeongin smiled at him. “You really think so?” he asked, earning a nod from Felix. “Yeah! He totally beat my ass in a Quidditch game a while ago. He’s really talented”, he confirmed, making the younger smile even more.

The two of them soon arrived at the library and had to part ways there to sort their respective books back into the shelves. “Cheer up. And don’t listen to those suckers”, Felix whispered to him encouragingly. “Thanks again, Felix!” Jeongin replied, already feeling much better than before.

After returning to his dorm only about half an hour later, Jeongin started packing his clothes for the weekend, feeling a rush of excitement. He couldn’t wait to see his family again, celebrate his brother’s wedding and, more than anything, spend a lot of time with Sunwoo. He also felt a bit nervous about introducing his boyfriend to his parents, but there was no doubt in his mind that they would love him.

The thought brought a giddy smile to his face and he couldn’t contain a little squeal. The weekend just couldn’t come soon enough.

~

Sunwoo took a deep breath and felt a rush of nervousness overcome him as the two students approached the front door of Jeongin’s house. They’d finally arrived after a few hours of traveling there, but Sunwoo still couldn’t relax, even after hearing Jeongin reassure him more than 10 times already. He just couldn’t help but picture all the bad things that could happen.

What if Jeongin’s parents ended up hating him? What if they didn’t approve of Jeongin dating somebody like him? What if something happened and somebody got hurt? He wasn’t exactly the lucky when it came to… well, absolutely anything actually. What if they didn’t even want to let him stay in their house?

The younger seemed to notice the worry evident on his boyfriend’s face and turned around to grab his hand. “Don’t worry so much, Sunwoo. I told you, they’re going to love you!” he reassured him, as if he had read Sunwoo’s mind. Another thing that the Slytherin found so endearing about him. How did he always have just the right words to say?

“Are you sure? What if they don’t…”, the taller replied, causing the other to take his hand, looking up at him. “Just trust me”, Jeongin insisted, pulling Sunwoo, who gave him a desperate pout, towards the front door of his home. He trusted Jeongin, but he didn’t trust himself.

Jeongin gave Sunwoo’s hand one last reassuring squeeze before unlocking the door. The two of them took off their shoes and Jeongin led Sunwoo to the living room, where they were met by his mother who was in the middle of taking off some dirt-stained gardening gloves. She looked up and her face lit up immediately when she saw the two boys standing there.

“You’re here already! We didn’t expect you for another hour!” she smiled, making her way around the table before hugging her son warmly. Sunwoo just stood there awkwardly, not really sure what to say or do in that kind of situation.

Jeongin and his mother hugged for a few seconds until she let go of him again, turning to Sunwoo, the bright smile, which resembled Jeongin’s smile a lot, still lingering on her face. “You must be Sunwoo”, she figured and hugged him next. Sunwoo was surprised, to say the least, but did his best to act natural about it.

“It is so nice to finally meet the boy our Jeongin keeps going on and on about”, she said cheerfully. Jeongin turned deep red, laughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject to prevent her from making any more embarrassing comments. “Where’s dad?” he asked.

“He’s in the kitchen, preparing lunch. It’ll probably take a while, since we didn’t expect you to be here yet”, she replied. “Why don’t you two unpack your bags and wait in your room upstairs? You could show Sunwoo around the house. I’m sure the food will be ready by then”, she suggested, earning a nod from her son. “Great. You can make yourself at home, Sunwoo. If you two need anything, I’ll be in the garden”, she smiled, put her gloves back on and returned outside.

Jeongin’s house was completely different from Sunwoo’s. There were many plants, pretty decoration and a lot of windows in every room, causing the entire house to be very well lit. The atmosphere just seemed very warm and comfortable overall, with a lot of pictures of Jeongin and his brothers all over the place.

After finishing the brief tour around his house, Jeongin took Sunwoo upstairs to his room. Sunwoo smiled when he entered it. It looked just the way he’d expected it to look. Just like the rest of the house, Jeongin’s room was very well lit, the walls were painted in a warm tone of yellow and the floor was covered in a soft dark brown carpet. There was a tall wooden closet, a desk, a bed and a small bedside table with many pictures on it. His bed filled up most of the room and was covered in countless stuffed animals. It was comfortable, full of life and pretty - just like Jeongin.

The two of them unpacked their bags before sitting down on Jeongin’s bed. They hadn’t noticed how exhausted they were from traveling to Jeongin’s place and then walking through the entire house, until they actually got some rest. “Your room is really nice”, Sunwoo commented.

“Thanks! I really like it too”, the younger replied, letting himself fall backwards on the bed. Sunwoo followed his movement and looked at him. Jeongin smiled. “See? I told you it was going to be fine”, he said after a few seconds. Sunwoo smiled back at him and nodded. He still couldn’t relax completely just yet. They still had the entire weekend ahead of them and Sunwoo still had a lot of opportunities to accidentally mess something up. But he didn’t say that to Jeongin, not wanting to ruin the mood.

Instead, Sunwoo wordlessly reached over to Jeongin, softly running a hand through his hair. It still fascinated him how he only ever felt warmth when he touched Jeongin. It was a feeling he just couldn’t get used to. Jeongin closed his eyes and leaned into Sunwoo’s touch, still smiling.

They stayed like this for a bit until they heard a knock on the door, causing the two of them to sit back up. “Come in”, Jeongin said and his older brother opened the door just wide enough to peek inside.

“Dad says the food is ready”, he told Jeongin, earning a nod from him before looking at Sunwoo. “You must be Sunwoo. I’m Jeongin’s brother Jeongmin”, he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at Jeongin before leaving the room.

“Don’t mind him, he’s always like that”, Jeongin chuckled and jumped to his feet before pulling Sunwoo up as well. The two of them headed downstairs and sat down at the large table in the living room. Jeongin’s dad soon came in with the lasagna in his hands. The Slytherin’s eyes lit up at the sight. Jeongin noticed his reaction and smiled knowingly.

“Jeongin told us what your favorite meal is, and we decided to surprise you with that, since you’re practically part of the family now”, Mr. Yang explained with a smile. Sunwoo couldn’t help but return the smile. He couldn’t believe how sweet they were to him and had to fight back a tear.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say… thank you”, he replied shyly, but Jeongin’s dad just waved off. The whole family soon started eating and chatting about casual things. Sunwoo didn’t say much, but he enjoyed listening to their conversation. He had almost finished his lasagna when Jeongin’s mom turned to him.

“So, Sunwoo...what do your parents do for a living? They’re wizards, right?” Mrs. Yang questioned, before taking a sip of her drink. Jeongin noticed Sunwoo tense a little at the mention of his parents. He hadn’t expected them to ask about that so suddenly.

Sunwoo felt the younger take his hand underneath the table and cleared his throat before answering: “Um, yes...they work at the Ministry of Magic.” Jeongin’s mother made a noise of delight. “Oh, just like us! Which department do they work in?” she asked, intrigued.

“I believe it’s the Department of International Magical Cooperation”, Sunwoo answered. Jeongin hadn’t expected his parents to react like they did; their eyes slightly widened in realization. “You’re the Kim’s son...”, Mr. Yang stated, causing Jeongin to furrow his eyebrows at his tone. “Do you know them?” he asked his father.

“You could say that. We work with them from time to time. They’ve never mentioned a son, though. They only ever talk about their daughter”, Mrs. Yang explained. Sunwoo lowered his head. “My parents aren’t too fond of me, I’m afraid”, he explained, subconsciously squeezing Jeongin’s hand.         

Jeongin’s parents seemed to sense that Sunwoo was uncomfortable talking about his parents and quickly changed the subject. They asked Sunwoo about his hobbies and his favorite school subject, to which Sunwoo replied that he really loved to read and that his favorite subject was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Mr. Yang’s face lit up as he remembered how Defense Against the Dark Arts used to be his favorite subject as well and happily told a story about how he accidentally set his classmate’s robes on fire once, making the six people at the table laugh. Jeongmin almost choked on his lasagna from laughing when Sunwoo jokingly gasped, saying that the exact same happened to him too.

 Jeongin was glad that his parents really seemed to like Sunwoo and couldn’t stop smiling as he watched them get to know him. Mr. Yang shared some more funny stories about his time in Hogwarts, creating a bright and comfortable atmosphere.

“So”, Mrs. Yang eventually spoke up after everyone had finished their meal, “let’s go over the plan for tomorrow, shall we?” she said, turning to her husband. “Sure, honey. We get up at 9 am tomorrow, have some delicious breakfast before we get ready to head to the venue by eleven. And then, after the ceremony, we come back here for the reception”, he explained, earning nods from the others.

After that, Mrs. Yang assigned everyone to do some tasks around the house. She told her husband to pick up some supplies from the store, while Jeongmin and Jeongshin decorated the living room some more and Jeongin did the dishes. The young Hufflepuff did as he was told and started carrying the glasses and plates back to the kitchen, closely followed by Sunwoo who didn’t really know what else to do. “I’ll help you”, the Slytherin announced, taking some of the plates from Jeongin's arms. "Thank you", the younger smiled and told Sunwoo to bring the dishes to the kitchen while Jeongin already started to wash them.

It didn’t take them long to finish doing so and all they had to do was to put the freshly cleaned plates back in the drawer. Sunwoo was just about to hand Jeongin the last stack of plates when they slipped from his hands and fell to the floor, shattering to pieces.

Jeongin gasped and Sunwoo clasped his hands over his mouth in shock as Mr. and Mrs. Yang already hurried into the kitchen. They must’ve heard the plates breaking. “Are you two okay? Did anyone get hurt?” Mr. Yang asked, the bag of supplies from the store still in his hands.

“I-I’m so sorry, it’s my fault… I didn’t mean to drop these”, Sunwoo replied, looking down to his feet. “Oh no, Sunwoo, it’s okay! Those were horrible plates”, Mrs. Yang reassured him, ignoring her husband whispering, “but this was your favorite set of china…”

“The important thing is that nobody got hurt. You two can head upstairs for now while we repair those plates and clean up the mess. Watch out for the shards!” she added and urged them out of the kitchen.

 Sunwoo sighed deeply as soon as they closed the door to Jeongin’s room behind them. “I did it again…” he said quietly, his eyes glued to the floor. “It’s not your fault, Sunwoo. It was an accident! Plus, my parents have probably already repaired the plates with magic, so everything is fine”, Jeongin replied, taking one of his boyfriend’s hands.

Sunwoo appreciated the fact that Jeongin and his family were so understanding about everything, but he still couldn’t shake the bad feeling in his chest. If only he could tell Jeongin about the real reason why these things happened to him.

He knew that he could trust Jeongin and wanted to be honest with him. So maybe… should he tell him?

Sunwoo considered it for a second but soon chased the thought out of his head. No, he couldn’t tell Jeongin. He couldn’t. It was already dangerous enough for Jeongin without knowing about it. And besides, it wasn’t like the younger could do anything about the issue, even if he knew. Nobody knew what would happen if Sunwoo dragged Jeongin into this.  _Yes, it’s better if he doesn’t know_ , Sunwoo concluded.

“You’re right”, he finally told Jeongin, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead. “Of course I am!” Jeongin laughed and took a seat on his bed before motioning for Sunwoo to do the same. The Slytherin gave him a small smile and took a seat next to him.

The two of them listened to music and talked for hours, both of them losing track of time. They talked about school, the wedding and their friends, wondering what was going on in Hogwarts. Jeongin even introduced Sunwoo to all of his plushies and Sunwoo told Jeongin about the book he was currently reading. In the evening, Mr. Yang brought them some snacks to enjoy before they changed into their pajamas and they eventually fell asleep.

_~_

_Sunwoo climbed up the stairs, leaving the dungeons to head to breakfast. The castle seemed unusually cold today, and there was no other soul to be seen. He thought it was weird, it was time for breakfast and the hallways would’ve usually been full of other students, but there was nobody there. The silence was almost eerie._

_The only thing Sunwoo could hear were his own footsteps, his breath and his pulse, ringing in his mind. He finally reached the Entrance Hall and stopped in front of the large, heavy door leading to the Great Hall. As soon as he stepped closer to the door, he could hear voices coming from the inside, but it didn’t sound like the usual playful chatter. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, despite the loudness of their voices. It sounded like war, like people were screaming, standing on the tables and waving around torches, as if everyone had gone insane. A weird contrast to the numbing silence from a few seconds ago._

_Sunwoo didn’t want to go inside. He was scared. He didn’t want to hear what they said. He didn’t want to know why they were so angry. He didn’t want to confront them. He wanted to turn back, run away and hide in his dorm._

_But, for some reason, he started leaning against the door anyway, as if his body had decided not to listen to his mind, as if he had lost control. The door felt twice as heavy as usual and Sunwoo had to use all of his might to push it open, the screams getting louder and louder with every inch._

_The screaming stopped abruptly as soon as he’d managed to enter the Great Hall. It was full of people, probably thousands, but everyone had quieted down and stopped in their tracks, staring at Sunwoo wordlessly. They still looked like Hogwarts students, dressed in their robes and color-coordinated ties. They didn’t say a thing, and their faces were hidden behind black masks with no facial features. Sunwoo wanted to back away and leave, but he didn’t._

_The masked students started coming closer and closer, until one of them emerged from the crowd. He wore a white mask, but that wasn’t the only reason why he looked different from the others. He seemed taller, scarier, angrier. Sunwoo wanted to turn around and escape, but his feet just wouldn’t move._

_“You disgust me”, the student with the white mask spoke up, breaking the silence. The other students nodded, and Sunwoo could feel their stares, even though he couldn’t see their eyes._

_“You’re an abomination. Nobody wants you here”, the student continued, earning even more nods from the others. Sunwoo recognized his voice. He couldn’t see his face, but he knew the condescending tone in his voice. He was pretty sure it was Lucas. The yellow Hufflepuff tie only confirmed it._

_“All you do is annoy everyone. Bother everyone. Hurt everyone. You don’t belong here. You should be put in a cage”, he added, spitting the last word. He came closer and closer to Sunwoo, who was still unable to move. “You know it too, don’t you? You know that you don’t deserve him.”_

_Sunwoo wanted to scream, tell him that he was wrong, tell him that he didn’t know anything, but he just couldn’t._

_“You know that Jeongin is better off without you. He deserves better than you. You’re the one lying to him. You’re the one hurting him. You’re the one putting him in danger. He hates you, but he’s too nice to tell you”, he continued, now standing right in front of Sunwoo, his faceless mask mocking him and his fear._

_“Did you actually think he loved you?” Lucas asked so quietly, it was almost a whisper. His cold laughter echoed through the large room._

_“He could never love you. You’re nothing. You couldn’t even tell him the truth, could you? You couldn’t even tell him that you’re dangerous and that people like you should stay away from people like him.”_

_Lucas suddenly pushed Sunwoo with a lot of force, causing him to stumble backwards. The students around them cheered him on, repeating his harsh words over and over and telling him to keep pushing him._

_“He doesn’t love you. He hates you.”_

_Lucas pushed him again._

_“He doesn’t like you. He hates you.”_

_Again._

_“Jeongin only puts up with you because he pities you.”_

_Again._

_Sunwoo stumbled backwards against the door as the crowd of students cheered Lucas on even more, hungry for more violence._

_“He hates you!” Lucas yelled._

_“That’s not true!” Sunwoo finally yelled in response, pushing Lucas back and causing him to fall backwards, hitting his head on one of the tables. The crowd of students fell silent again. For a few seconds Sunwoo just stood there, shaking as he waited for the masked student to get back up. He didn’t._

_Sunwoo didn’t know what to do and stared down at the student, frozen in his spot. Then, suddenly, the white mask vanished, revealing the student’s face. But it wasn’t Lucas anymore._

_“J-Jeongin?” Sunwoo realized as he looked at his face, recognizing his soft features. Sunwoo stumbled over to the boy, falling to his knees and trying to help him up, but it was useless. Jeongin looked up at him, an unreadable expression on his face as Sunwoo desperately tried to help him somehow. He yelled at the students surrounding them, telling them to help him, to help Jeongin, but they just stood there, wordlessly staring down at the two of them._

_Sunwoo stared at his hands, realizing that they were stained in the blood stemming from the back of Jeongin’s head. A pain spread throughout his entire body and he was shaking in guilt and helplessness._

_“Why…?” Jeongin said in a weak voice, “Why didn’t you tell me?”_

_Sunwoo cried, desperately trying to lift Jeongin’s body up to take him somewhere, anywhere to get someone to help him, but it was no use. It was like all the strength had left his body, like he couldn’t even lift his own arm, no matter how hard he tried._

_“I trusted you, but all you did was hurt me…” Jeongin replied, his voice getting weaker and weaker by the second._

_“Jeongin, no…! Please… I’m sorry” I-I didn’t want this to happen...!” Sunwoo sobbed uncontrollably, trying to cover Jeongin’s wound with his hands, but it only seemed to make it worse. The pool of blood around them only expanded further, reaching the other students’ shoes, but they didn’t bother moving away._

_“Why did you do this to me, Sunwoo…?” Jeongin asked weakly, his face and his lips losing their usually healthy and bright color and his body showing no signs of his usual warmth. “Jeongin, please…” Sunwoo whispered, his face stained with tears and his robes half-soaked in Jeongin’s blood._

_“You lied to me, Sunwoo… You lied to me… You… monster…” Jeongin said slowly before his eyes went glassy and lifeless. Sunwoo cried out for help, but nobody moved. All he heard was his own cried echoing back to him and all he felt was Jeongin’s cold and lifeless body in his arms._

_~_

Sunwoo woke up with a scream, his body feeling sweaty and tense and his eyes wet with tears. Jeongin was sitting next to him, already awake and giving him a very worried look. He had tried to shake the older awake after noticing that he was having a nightmare that seemed pretty intense.

Sunwoo tried to calm his heavy breathing, but just couldn’t seem to stop sobbing, both because the images from his nightmare were still fresh in his mind, but also because he was so relieved to see that it wasn’t real, that Jeongin was okay and right next to him.

The younger tried to ask him what happened, but his boyfriend was way too shaken up to speak, so he just hugged him in an attempt to calm him down. Sunwoo had had nightmares every night ever since he was a little kid, but he’d never had one this bad. No nightmare had ever felt this real before either.

Sunwoo struggled against Jeongin’s embrace at first, the traumatizing dream reminding him that he shouldn’t be close to him, but the younger didn’t let go of him. It took Jeongin a good twenty minutes to calm Sunwoo down enough to be able to speak.

He carefully let go of Sunwoo, who looked down to his hands, avoiding Jeongin’s eyes until the younger took them in his to make Sunwoo look at him. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Sunwoo?” he asked carefully.

_“Why didn’t you tell me? You lied to me, Sunwoo?”_

The words still rang in his head. Sunwoo had kept this secret from Jeongin for so long. He’d wanted to protect him from it, but what if that only made it more dangerous for him? He’d wanted to tell Jeongin since the beginning, but he was so scared that Jeongin would be scared of him. That he would push him away.

Sunwoo started to think that that had been the wrong choice all along. Keeping secrets from Jeongin would only drive them apart. Deep down he knew that he had to tell Jeongin eventually, but he just never found the courage to do it. But after that nightmare, Sunwoo knew he had to tell Jeongin the truth. It was what he should have done from the very beginning. He’d been so selfish this entire time. He needed to be honest with him, even if it meant that Jeongin would want to stay away from him.

At least he would be safe then.

Jeongin put his hands on Sunwoo’s cheeks and kissed his forehead reassuringly. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything, no matter how bad it is”, he said quietly, giving one of his hands a squeeze of encouragement. Sunwoo looked down to their hands and took a deep breath, gathering his words.

“The truth is… um…” he started, unsure how to put it. “Ever since I was born, I’ve been really unlucky. And by that, I mean _really_ unlucky. Really bad things happened to me, my family and the people around me. It happened so often that my parents realized that it couldn’t be normal anymore. They took me to many different witches and wizards to find out what was wrong with me and they found out… that I was cursed”, Sunwoo explained.

Jeongin didn’t say anything and just listened patiently, his expression growing more and more worried by the second. Sunwoo was too scared to look him in the eyes and kept his eyes locked to their hands as he continued.

“It’s a very rare curse that runs in my family, but it only happens every 500 years and it’s been running in my family for centuries. It causes me to attract dark magic and it brings misfortune to me and the people around me, especially the ones I love. It could be something harmless like me being clumsy and breaking something, but it can also cause serious accidents to happen. I can’t control it… but it’s the reason why my family… hates me so much”, he said, wiping away a tear forming in his eyes. “I… didn’t mean to hurt them but it just kept happening and there was nothing I could do about it…”

He paused for a bit before continuing. He needed to tell Jeongin everything. “That’s not all. It also affects me physically. It’s the reason why my skin feels ice-cold to others, my heartbeat is a bit slower than normal and I’m stronger than regular people. When I get hurt, it’s very hard to heal me, because good magic doesn’t work well on me. I got hurt really badly as a child a couple of times and even some of the most powerful healers needed a couple of hours to heal me fully. Even Madame Pomfrey. That’s why I was so shocked when you healed that cut on my arm in just a few seconds… And lastly, as you know, I can’t feel temperatures… or at least I couldn’t until you hugged me by the lake back in December… I felt your warmth back then. But that only happens with you…”

There was a pause. The older kept his eyes shut tightly, too scared of Jeongin’s reaction to open them. Then he felt the younger scoot closer to hug him tightly. Sunwoo hesitantly opened his eyes and let his arms find their way around Jeongin, hugging him back and pulling him closer.

“Sunwoo… I-I don’t even know what to say…” the Hufflepuff said between quiet sobs, burying his face in the crook of Sunwoo’s neck as they hugged. “You don’t have to say anything…” the older replied, fighting back his own tears.

“Do you get it now? This is why I hate seeing you get hurt, Jeongin. Because I know that it’s because of me and my stupid curse. I can’t control it and I’m putting you in danger just by being close to you… by liking you. I’m the one hurting you”, Sunwoo said and pulled away from Jeongin, causing the younger to look up at him with teary eyes.

“I understand if you don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t deserve you and you don’t deserve to get hurt because of me”, he added.

Jeongin cupped his face with his hands. “I’ll never leave you, Sunwoo. Don’t ever say that again…” he spoke, his eyes still looking watery. Sunwoo looked down to his lap. “But it’s so dangerous… Don’t you understand? A curse like that is not to be messed around with. I already hurt you so many times I… I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“It’s not your fault, it never was. I’m not scared of some curse. I like you and I don’t ever want to lose you, alright? I’ll find a way to break that curse somehow. I promise”, he said, some more tears escaping his eyes. “But-”, Sunwoo wanted to protest more but Jeongin interrupted him by kissing him on the lips.

“See, nothing happened”, the younger said, smiling after pulling away. Sunwoo showed a small smile before reconnecting their lips for a little longer this time. “You’re crazy”, he replied before wiping the tears from Jeongin’s eyes. “And don’t cry. An angel like you shouldn’t cry, especially not because of someone like me”, he added and the younger blushed deeply at his words, leaning in for another hug to hide his face in the crook of Sunwoo’s neck again.

Jeongin probably didn’t realize how relieved and happy Sunwoo was that he didn’t push him away. He was so incredibly lucky to have met someone like Jeongin. Now that he had finally told Jeongin about the curse, he felt like he could finally breathe again. Having Jeongin in his arms made him feel like he could somehow be okay again.

They stayed like that for a while until Jeongin pulled away again, wiped Sunwoo’s remaining tears and lay back down, pulling his blanket back over his shoulders. “So, where do we start looking? There must be some way to cure you somehow…” he said, watching Sunwoo lie down next to him and facing him.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy… I’ve secretly been trying to break it ever since I was old enough to understand it, but obviously I haven’t found a cure yet. I even sneaked into the restricted area of the library in Hogwarts, but I couldn’t find much information about my kind of curse. I don’t know where to look anymore”, Sunwoo replied, his gaze directed at the ceiling of Jeongin’s room in thought.

“That’s okay, we’ll find it. Together”, the younger said, causing Sunwoo to smile at him. He couldn’t think of anything to say. He didn’t think he could put into words how grateful he was for Jeongin. His kind and understanding nature, his smile, his warmth, the sparkle in his eyes and the fact that he was next to him… Sunwoo could never put into words how thankful he was for all of that.

Before Jeongin could say anything else, Sunwoo had already drifted off to sleep. The younger smiled fondly and reached out to softly let his hand caress his cold cheek. He glanced at the clock just above his door, realizing that it was past 3 in the morning already. No wonder he felt so tired, especially after waking up in the middle of the night.

“I’ll find a cure for you. I don’t know how yet, but I promise I will find it somehow…”, he whispered to him and looked at him for a few more seconds before his own eyelids became heavier and heavier as he fell asleep.

~

_After watching his luggage get stored away by one of the train conductors, 11-year-old Sunwoo anxiously entered the Hogwarts Express for the first time. He’d arrived very early, so it wasn’t hard for him to find an empty compartment. They wouldn’t depart for another 30 minutes, after all. He’d, of course, come alone, so there wasn’t anyone to say goodbye to either. He took a seat by the window and decided to look outside the window to occupy himself with something, anything, until he would finally be on his way to Hogwarts. Away from his ‘home’ for the first time in his life._

_The young boy watched as more and more people came through the magical wall and filled the platform, breaking the silence. Students, their siblings and their parents watching the conductors load their luggage on board, before hugging each other goodbye and reuniting with their friends. Parents shouting after their children, telling them to write, to go safely, to take care._

_Sunwoo found himself wondering what it was like to have somebody like that. Somebody who’d tell you they’ll miss you when you go far away. Somebody who’d hug you goodbye and tell you to go safely. Would he be able to find somebody like that? Would he be able to start over and forget about the past, at least for a year?_

_“Excuse me, are these seats still free? The other compartments so far were full or reserved…”, a voice spoke up, ripping Sunwoo out of his thoughts. It belonged to a young boy his age, probably also a first year, and he even had about four other students behind him, waiting for permission to come in._

_“O-oh hey, hi! Sure, y-you can sit here, it’s just me in here”, young Sunwoo replied. “Awesome, thanks”, the boy smiled, signaling the others to come in, before they all took their respective seats. Sunwoo felt his heartbeat pick up out of nervousness. He wasn’t sure what to do or say since he didn’t remember the last time, he met someone new who hadn’t already ‘heard about him’ and didn’t look at him with a disgusted expression on their face._

_Instead, this group of people actually seemed to like him. Once the train had departed soon after they had joined him in that compartment, they chatted happily, asked each other some casual questions and shared their snacks with him. They didn’t exclude him and treated him like everybody else._

_Some of them even got sorted into Slytherin, just like Sunwoo did (as expected, his entire ancestry consisted of Slytherins after all) and befriended him, spent time with him. It was like a dream Sunwoo never wanted to wake up from. He’d made friends and Hogwarts was much more fun that he had expected. His wish to start over had come true… or so he thought._

_One day, in potions class, Sunwoo and one of his friends had to team up to brew a Hiccoughing Potion together. Sunwoo was responsible for adding the ingredients and stirring the potion for the correct amount of time, while his teammate weighed and cut those ingredients. Everything was going just as planned, until Sunwoo was about to reach for the next ingredient to add, when he accidentally knocked over the cauldron, causing the hot liquid to spill all over their table and his teammates hands._

_“I’m so sorry, are you-”, Sunwoo started and tried to help his friend, whose hands were already covered in red marks getting worse and worse by the second, but the boy quickly scooted away from him with a terrified expression on his face. “Oh my god, Sunwoo! Did you do that on purpose?!” he asked, his hands shaking before two other students rushed to help him as he winced in pain._

_“No, of course not! It was an-” “He knocked over the cauldron on purpose, I saw it!” another student interrupted him. “I can’t believe you did that, Sunwoo. What did I ever do to you?” the injured student cried as the two other students took him to the Hospital Wing. “That’s not what happened, I-”_

_“What the hell, man? I thought you guys were friends?”_

_“He’s absolutely crazy.”_

_“I can’t believe we have a dangerous person like this in our class…”_

_The other students were only giving Sunwoo disturbed looks. Some of them even backed away from him, looking so scared, as if he were about to pull out a flamethrower and attack all of them. It had happened again. Just like last time._

_Sunwoo panicked. Nobody listened to him and everyone was convinced that he had hurt his friend on purpose. So, he ran away. Luckily, the Slytherin common room was in the dungeons, just like the Potions classroom, so he managed to get there without getting lost. He didn’t know what else to do. Tears were running down his face and he knew he was going to get into even more trouble for running out of the classroom in the middle of a lesson._

_The next few weeks were tough. And it didn’t seem to get any better, no matter how much time passed. Sunwoo had tried to apologize to the student he’d injured or explain to him that he didn’t mean for it to happen, but the guy called Madame Pomfrey immediately to get him out of there, so he didn’t really get to say anything. He also got detention for ‘skipping class’ and had to help the janitor clean the entire castle while listening to the portraits curse him out or tell him stories about how to injure more people, deeply disturbing the boy as he dusted off their frames._

_Soon, the entire castle had heard about the incident and the other students avoided him or glared at him whenever they saw him, calling him weird and dangerous. They sat away from him during meals in the Great Hall, calling him a waste of space. Someone even spilled a hot beverage over his hands once while he was eating to “show him what it’s like”, earning the guy some high fives and laughs from his friends._

_Sunwoo didn’t feel temperatures, so it didn’t hurt as much as it would have if he was normal, but the burn was still annoying and took a very long time to heal since he didn’t want to risk showing up at the Hospital Wing again._

_Some of the friends he had made on the train had been on his side for a short while, but after the other students had started to avoid them too, they figured that it would be better for their reputation to ditch Sunwoo. He was alone, lost and misunderstood. And nobody wanted to hear him out._

_Sunwoo didn’t want to make even more of a fool of himself by walking around the castle crying, he always hid away in his dorm whenever he didn’t have to go to class or help the janitor. He was thankful for the curtains every bed in the dorm had since they made his bed a perfect hiding spot. The only place where he didn’t have to worry about anyone else watching him break down and cry silently._

_“Hey man…” a voice said quietly one evening when Sunwoo was lying awake as usual. Sunwoo didn’t know who the voice belonged to and he couldn’t see past his curtains. “I wanted to tell you something. Can I move this aside for a bit?” the guy whispered, tugging on the curtains. Young Sunwoo wasn’t sure what to reply since he didn’t even know who was asking, so he just said nothing. He didn’t know who to trust anymore._

_“It’s nothing bad, I promise”, the voice on the other side of the curtains added. Sunwoo thought about it for a few seconds before he got too curious. “Okay, s-sure”, he whispered back. The curtain was pulled aside and one of Sunwoo’s dormmates took a seat across from Sunwoo._

_Sunwoo recognized him. He was one of the most popular boys in his year. The type of guy pretty much everyone wanted to be friends with. Sunwoo had seen him around, but he didn’t remember his name. They had never talked to each other before, after all,_

_“I just wanted to tell you not to let the rumors get to you too much. I don’t believe you knocked over that cauldron on purpose. People in this castle are just too hungry for drama”, the boy said, giving Sunwoo a genuine smile. He couldn’t believe his ears. Someone who actually believed him and even made an effort to tell him that?_

_“Th-thank you for believing me… It really was an accident”, Sunwoo said and a tear escaped his eye. He didn’t even really know why he was crying. He was just so relieved that he wasn’t completely alone._

_The other boy seemed to notice that Sunwoo was crying, causing his smile to change into a sympathetic expression. “Do you need a hug?” he asked, chuckling quietly. Yes, he did, but Sunwoo was too embarrassed to actually say it so he just looked down to his lap as a few more tears rolled down his cheeks. The other seemed to take the hint and scooted closer to hug Sunwoo._

_Words couldn’t even describe how thankful Sunwoo was, especially when that boy waited until Sunwoo pulled away. “Better?” the boy smiled after Sunwoo had calmed down a bit. He nodded in response. “Your name is Sunwoo, right? I’m Hyunjin”, the boy said and smiled._

_“I’d love to stay but I’m actually really tired”, Hyunjin chuckled and got back up from Sunwoo’s bed. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Cheer up, Sunwoo”, he added, yawned and returned to his own bed, falling asleep almost instantly._

_After that evening, Hyunjin made an effort to spend time with Sunwoo, eat with him and partner up with him in their classes. Hyunjin was really nice, very popular and also very good at Quidditch. He didn’t really study a lot, so his grades weren’t the best, especially in Charms, but he was really fun to be around. Sunwoo didn’t know why Hyunjin was so nice to him, but he was impossibly grateful for it._

_People sometimes called Hyunjin out for it. Like that one day in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, when one of the students sitting in front of them turned around and interrupted Sunwoo in the middle of his sentence. “You’re too nice, Hyunjin. You don’t need to hang out with that weirdo just because you pity him”, he said with a nasty grin, before shooting a condescending look at Sunwoo._

_Hyunjin’s smile dropped and his expression darkened. “I don’t pity him. I pity you for buying into cheap rumors some random asshat in this castle made up”, he replied. The student probably hadn’t expected that answer and just mumbled a quick “whatever” before turning back around._

_Sunwoo felt so bad. Though he felt very grateful for Hyunjin having his back like that, he didn’t want Hyunjin to risk his popularity because of him. “You don’t have to do this, Hyunjin…” Sunwoo said, looking down to his hands. Hyunjin, however, smiled and put a hand on his shoulder._

_“I know. But I want to”, he replied. Class started soon after, so Hyunjin shifted his attention to whatever the teacher was talking about. Sunwoo smiled at him for a few seconds. He had finally made his first real friend in this castle._

_~_

_Not much had changed over the course of Sunwoo’s second year in Hogwarts. People still hated him, spread rumors about him and avoided him, and Hyunjin was still his only friend._

_Sunwoo’s grades improved a bit since he occupied himself with reading and studying a lot. Hyunjin had many other friends to spend time with, and since Sunwoo didn’t have any other friends, he had a lot of time on his hands._

_He was just on his way back from borrowing some new books at the library, making his way down the Great Stairs when he ran into Hyunjin. “Oh hey, Sunwoo! Are you heading back to the dorms too? Let’s go together”, the slightly older suggested, earning a nod from Sunwoo, before they headed down to the dungeons together._

_They were about to pass by the Great Hall and Sunwoo was about to ask Hyunjin if he had already eaten when he saw that the Ravenclaw girl walking in front of them lost her balance and was inevitably going to fall down the set of stairs in front of them. In an impulse, Sunwoo tried to reach out for her arm to stop her from falling, but he was just a little bit to slow and she fell._

_The two Slytherins froze for a second, before rushing down the stairs to help her. Sunwoo arrived there first, grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly, but she didn’t react at all. She seemed to have a wound at the back of her head, judging from the blood that was staining Sunwoo’s fingers._

_It had happened again. Someone got hurt because of him. It was his fault._

_Hyunjin had kneeled down next to him, checking her pulse and telling Sunwoo that she was just unconscious, but Sunwoo barely even heard him. They needed to get her to Madame Pomfrey as soon as possible. Sunwoo was about to lift her up, since carrying her there seemed to be the most logical and fastest option, but before he could attempt to do so, he was pushed aside by a couple of students that had seen the accident happen from the Entrance Hall._

_“Get away from her, weirdo”, one of them said as him and another guy lifted her up. “Don’t you think you’ve already done enough?”_

_Everything after that happened in a flash. The girl was taken to the Hospital Wing, the students who had seen her fall were convinced that Sunwoo had pushed her and he soon found himself in the headmaster’s office._

_“Trouble seems to be following you around, Kim Sunwoo”, the headmaster started. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Sunwoo would have scoffed at that. He couldn’t be more correct. “I’ve heard many stories about you.”_

_“This is a misunderstanding”, Sunwoo said, even though he already knew how this was going to end. “I don’t think there’s much to misunderstand about you pushing a girl down the Great Stairs”, the headmaster replied. Sunwoo was already mentally preparing to be expelled and sent back to his ‘family’, a thought that caused a rush of anxiety to wash over him, when somebody entered the headmaster’s office._

_“He didn’t push her, headmaster! I was there with him and I saw it clearly. She lost her balance and he only tried to keep her from falling”, Hyunjin stated, sounding out of breath, probably from running there. The headmaster looked beyond bewildered. “Hwang Hyunjin, what are you-” “You have to believe me! I’ll drink an entire glass of Veritaserum if I really have to!”_

_The headmaster’s eyes went back and forth between the two Slytherins, before he let out a sigh. “I’ll let you off this once, Sunwoo. But I will keep an eye on you”, he said. Sunwoo thanked him multiple times and left the headmaster’s office, accompanied by a confidently smiling Hyunjin._

_Sunwoo let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the slightly older Slytherin. “You are crazy, Hyunjin”, he stated, but couldn’t hide a grateful smile before hugging him. Sunwoo couldn’t imagine being expelled from Hogwarts. Sure, his life in Hogwarts wasn’t too pleasant either, but at least he was away from his parents. Anything was better than being with his parents. Plus, he had Hyunjin._

_~_

_Luckily, Sunwoo’s third year was very uneventful. The other students still avoided him, and they still had all of those rumors stored in the back of their heads, but they didn’t pull any stupid pranks on him anymore. Instead, most of them just ignored him, acted like he wasn’t there and only ever talked to him when they were forced to do so. Of course, that still wasn’t an ideal situation for Sunwoo, but at least he didn’t have to worry about people trying to spill hot beverages over him, reporting him to the principal for things he didn’t do or pushing him when he passed by them._

_Hyunjin had started dating around and hanging out with a lot of different guys, just like his friend Minho had, and he was still as popular as before, spending most of his time with his best friend Changbin, so he didn’t have a lot of time left to spend with Sunwoo anymore, but the slightly younger didn’t blame him. He was already grateful for Hyunjin even wanting to be friends with him in the first place._

_As a result, the third year was over and had transformed into his fourth year before Sunwoo knew it. The first half of that year felt pretty much the same as always. However, in the last week of January, his day-to-day-life took a turn._

_Sunwoo was just on his way to the library, minding his own business as usual, when another student bumped into him, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the floor. His bag slipped off his shoulder, fell to the floor around him, causing his books to spread all over the stone floor._

_“I’m so sorry, I didn’t watch where I was going…” Sunwoo apologized quickly before looking up to see the student who had caused him to fall._

_He was also in Slytherin but looked older than Sunwoo. Sunwoo figured he was probably a sixth-year, with light brown hair and sharp eyes. To Sunwoo’s surprise, the boy didn’t seem angry, on the contrary, he even gave him an apologetic smile in return. His smile was very gorgeous, too._

_“No, it’s my fault. Sorry, I didn’t mean to knock you over like that”, he chuckled and held out his hand. Sunwoo hesitated, but eventually took the boy’s hand and let him pull him to his feet._

_The boy even picked up Sunwoo’s books for him. “Th-thanks”, the younger Slytherin said and awkwardly cleared his throat as the boy chuckled._

_“Anytime”, he replied, “I’m Kang Youngjun.”_

_Youngjun was a few inches taller than Sunwoo and had the figure of a Quidditch player. Sunwoo had no idea why Youngjun was so nice to him and it caught him off guard. He seemed to be genuine though, so Sunwoo gave him a small smile._

_“I’m, um, Sunwoo. Kim Sunwoo”,_ _he replied. There was a short pause until Sunwoo awkwardly turned to leave. “See you around, um, Kang Youngjun”, he stammered._

_“Definitely”, Youngjun replied, still smiling warmly._

_To say that Sunwoo was surprised when Youngjun took a seat in front of him at breakfast the next day was an understatement. The older student smiled brightly at him and chuckled when Sunwoo looked at him with wide eyes._

_"I saw you sitting here all by yourself and figured I should join you", Youngjun smiled, already grabbing one of the many bread buns that had appeared in front of them. "O-oh you really don't need to... I'm..." Sunwoo trailed off. He didn't know why Youngjun was so nice to him all of a sudden. He couldn't remember ever talking to the guy. Sure, he knew that Youngjun was fairly popular, and he'd seen him and his group of friends in the Slytherin common room from time to time, but they'd never even exchanged looks or anything._

_But there he was, giving Sunwoo his charming smile as he reached for a second piece of bread._

_"Don't worry about it", he said, shrugging. Sunwoo couldn’t wrap his head around this situation, but he also couldn't complain. It's not like he was in a place to deny anyone who was nice enough to talk to him._

_A few seconds of awkward silence passed, since Sunwoo didn't really know what to say as he watched Youngjun eat his breakfast. After all, Sunwoo wasn't the best at making conversation -or friends for that matter- and the whole thing had caught him even more off-guard than the library incident._

_Sunwoo was ripped out of his thoughts by a sudden touch to his arm. He looked up in confusion._

_“Sunwoo, were you listening?” Youngjun chuckled, his hand resting on Sunwoo’s forearm on the table. Sunwoo felt his face heat up. “What? Sorry, I must’ve zoned out… What did you say?”_

_“I was just asking you out on a date. Just you and me...”_

_And before Sunwoo even knew it, he had landed himself his very first boyfriend. Suddenly, his time at Hogwarts didn’t feel like a nightmare anymore! Youngjun was super sweet, waiting in front of the classroom for him, giving him little gifts and going on romantic Hogsmeade dates every day. After years of feeling like an outcast, having someone like Youngjun in his life; someone who loved and appreciated him, made Sunwoo feel like he was special._

_“Can I ask you something?” Sunwoo asked about two weeks later when he and Youngjun hung out in Hogsmeade once again, a cup of butterbeer standing in front of them. “Sure”, Youngjun said, giving Sunwoo one of those warm smiles that made his heart flutter._

_“Why do you like me?”_

_Youngjun chuckled, like he wasn’t entirely sure if Sunwoo really meant he question. He did mean it, though. People didn’t like Sunwoo, so why did this sweet, handsome guy like him of all people. “You’re cute”, was all Youngjun said._

_“Although your hair looks kind of weird today” Youngjun chuckled, ruffling Sunwoo’s hair and ruining his efforts to keep it curly. “Anyway, what do you want to do for Valentine’s day?” he changed the subject._

_Sunwoo didn’t think much about it and smiled at the question. This year Valentine’s day wouldn’t just be another day of the year to him. He was really looking forward to doing something special and romantic with Youngjun. Though he wasn’t sure what exactly people did on that day..._

_“I don’t know, surprise me”, he told Youngjun who grinned secretively. “Alright then, I have the perfect idea! I’ll wait for you on top of the Astronomy tower tomorrow at sundown and I’ll have the biggest surprise ready for you”, Youngjun promised. Sunwoo’s smile widened and he found himself feeling giddy and excited at the thought of tomorrow._

_Sunwoo could barely sleep that night, wondering what kind of surprise Youngjun had planned for him. Should he get him something too? But what? He should have thought of that earlier when he could have still secretly bought something in Hogsmeade._

_Sunwoo didn’t see Youngjun all day the next day but he didn’t think much about it because he was probably busy. He couldn’t deny that he had gotten used to Youngjun’s presence around him though, since the older had taken him out every day over the past two weeks. When Sunwoo thought about it he could barely believe that it had only been two weeks with Youngjun. He figured that time really did fly when one was having fun._

_He couldn’t wait until sundown and practically sprinted up the stairs to the Astronomy tower when it was finally time. When he reached the top, he expected Youngjun to already be there waiting for him but there was nobody here. Sunwoo furrowed his brows in confusion. He sat down at the edge and decided to wait while admiring the view. Maybe Youngjun was just late._

_Sunwoo watched the sunset while waiting for his boyfriend to show up. He didn’t know how much time passed but the moon and the stars had long since come out and there was still no sign of Youngjun. Sunwoo was beginning to grow worried. What if something had happened to Youngjun and he was just sitting up here like a fool?_

_Sunwoo got up and made his way back to the common room to check if Youngjun was there. It was late so he didn’t see anyone in the corridors. When he finally made it to the common room, he was surprised to see the commotion. Since it was already past midnight, he didn’t expect so many people to still be up. It wasn’t just Slytherins either, but he spotted a few Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors as well._

_“There he is”, someone said, pointing at Sunwoo. A few people snickered, confusing Sunwoo even more. What was so funny?_

_“Were you up there all this time?” he heard Youngjun’s voice right before he stepped into his vision after being surrounded by his friends. “I-I was worried about you...”, Sunwoo stammered, trying not to let too much of his confusion show. “W-when you didn’t show up-” The other students in the room laughed and even Youngjun joined them. It was nothing like the warm smiles he had regarded Sunwoo with over the past two weeks._

_“You’re so easy, Kim Sunwoo!” he sneered. “E-easy?” Sunwoo asked. He didn’t understand what was going on. Why was Youngjun looking at him like that and what were all those people doing here? “Yes, easy! Don’t you get it? This”, he gestured between himself and Sunwoo, “was never real! I made a bet with these guys here”, Youngjun told him._

_Sunwoo felt like he had been slapped. “A bet?” Youngjun laughed again. “They bet that I couldn’t make you fall for me within two weeks. Well, originally it was one week but you were just so fucking funny to mess with, we extended the bet a little. Do you really think I’d date you? You’re a psycho!”_

_Sunwoo lowered his head, trying to fight the tears that were brimming in his eyes. Youngjun never really liked him. He had just toyed with him and Sunwoo had walked right into his trap because he had been blinded by the fact that a cute guy was actually nice to him._

_“Aw, look Youngjun you made him sad!” some random guy Sunwoo didn’t know mocked him. He wanted to run away, hide in his dorm and never ever come out again. But he couldn’t move. It felt like he was frozen into place and now he had to endure the mocking coos and the laughs and Youngjun looking at him triumphantly._

_“Happy Valentine’s day!” Youngjun sneered._

_“What the hell is going on here!” a new voice suddenly spoke up. Sunwoo’s head snapped in the direction of the entrance. Hyunjin had just come through, probably from a date with one of his conquests. He looked from Sunwoo to Youngjun to the crowd and then back at his friend. “We were just having some fun here, Hwang”, a Hufflepuff snapped at Hyunjin._

_Sunwoo finally got his limbs to move and he ran off, past Hyunjin and out of the common room, away from the mocking shouts of “aw, where are you going Sunwoo?”_

_He made it to the entrance hall before Hyunjin caught up with him, holding him back by his sleeve. “Sunwoo, wait, what happened?” he asked, concern laced in his voice. Sunwoo tried to answer him but all he managed was a pathetic sob. Hyunjin didn’t hesitate to pull him into a hug which Sunwoo gratefully returned. Unfortunately, it did nothing to soothe his crying. Hyunjin was rubbing comforting circles into his back, repeatedly telling him that it was going to be okay._

_But how could it be okay? He had been screwed over and publicly humiliated by someone he thought he could trust. Part of him hoped that this was all just a bad dream – but why wasn’t he waking up?_

_He sniffled, trying to stop crying but the tears just kept coming. Hyunjin still tried to get him to calm down but it took him about 20 minutes to do so. When Sunwoo finally felt like he was able to speak without his voice cracking he pulled out of the hug and looked away, not wanting Hyunjin to see how messed up he looked._

_“So...it turns out that Youngjun was just pretending to like me because of a stupid bet”, Sunwoo told him, sniffling again. He hated how wrecked his voice sounded; he hated that he was crying over this guy like a pathetic fool. “Wait, what? I’m going to kill him!” Hyunjin exclaimed, looking about ready to turn around and give Youngjun a piece of his mind._

_Luckily, Sunwoo reacted quickly, holding him back by his robes before he could get his ass kicked by a sixth year who was a lot stronger than him. “Can you just...I don’t know...take my mind off things?” he pleaded. Hyunjin’s features softened and he turned to fully face Sunwoo again. “Of course. Let’s go somewhere...”_

_They went to a narrow corridor that usually wasn’t on the prefects’ patrolling route and sat down on the windowsill, talking about anything that wasn’t Youngjun for hours. Hyunjin even managed to make him smile a couple of times._

_It was 3am when they decided to sneak back into the common room after making sure that the coast was clear. Hyunjin gave him another hug once they had made it back to their dorm room. Sunwoo gave him a grateful smile before he finally crawled into his bed and pulled the blanket over his head, ready to forget all about Valentine’s Day._

~

Sunwoo woke up with tears in his eyes.

This dream had just brought back all the pain he’d wanted to forget full force. He sat up and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. A peek at the clock on the nightstand told him that it was four in the morning. Sunwoo sighed, looking next to him where Jeongin was still sleeping peacefully. He smiled faintly, remembering that he had Jeongin now and that everything was (hopefully) going to be alright.

~

Sunwoo inspected himself in the full-size mirror once more, fixing his tie for what felt like the 100th time. Jeongin had gone to his little brother’s room to change into his own suit while Sunwoo had done the same in Jeongin’s room. The tailored black suit Jeongin’s family had kindly lent him looked good on him. It was all-black, the only exception being the pastel pink tie, matching this wedding’s dress code.

The Slytherin couldn’t help but worry about the wedding. What if he messed up again? What if he embarrassed himself in front of Jeongin’s family and his parents threw him out? What if…

Sunwoo’s train of panicked thoughts got interrupted when he heard the door open. He turned around to see Jeongin, giving him a small smile as he felt his worries disappear from his mind. The younger returned his smile and took a dramatic spin to show off his outfit. “How do I look?” he asked, looking down at himself with a bright smile.

In contrast to Sunwoo’s all-black suit, Jeongin wore an all-white suit with a cute pastel pink bow instead of a tie. His hair had been styled to curls and he was beaming, excitedly waiting for Sunwoo’s reaction.

“You look like an angel”, the Slytherin replied finally, moving away from the mirror and toward his boyfriend, “as always”, he added. Jeongin blushed visibly but smiled shyly at Sunwoo’s words, unsure what to reply to that.

“Thank you”, he said, reaching out for Sunwoo’s hands to pull him close enough for their lips to meet, “that’s really sweet.”

“ _You’re_ sweet”, Sunwoo returned with a smirk. Jeongin couldn’t hold back a giggle and gave his boyfriend’s chest a slap of affection. “Stop~” he whined before connecting their lips again.

“So, if you two lovebirds are done making out, we’re ready to get going”, Jeongmin spoke up, standing in the hallway and giving them a teasing smirk. Jeongin moved away from Sunwoo, turned beet red, and mentally cursed himself for leaving the door open.

“We’re not like that!” he complained but Jeongmin only chuckled. “Yeah sure. One could think you’re the ones getting married today”, he teased, smoothly dodging the stuffed bunny Jeongin threw at him in embarrassment. “Go _away_ , Jeongmin!” the Hufflepuff whined, “We’ll be downstairs in a second.”

They could still see Jeongmin wiggle his eyebrows at them before Jeongin closed the door on him. Jeongin sighed. “Let’s stay in Hogwarts next time”, he pouted, his cheeks still looking red. Sunwoo simply chuckled, pressed another quick kiss to his boyfriend’s lips and took his hand.

“Let’s just go downstairs before he comes back”, he suggested, earning a nod from Jeongin before they left his room.

Soon enough the family piled into the car and made their way to the church. Jeongin noticed that his boyfriend looked a little unsettled, so he reached out for his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Everything’s going to be okay”, he muttered only loud enough for Sunwoo to hear.

“How do you always know what I’m thinking?” Sunwoo asked, clearly surprised that Jeongin had sensed his worries. Jeongin grinned at him and properly laced their fingers together. “I’m just that good”, he joked, earning one of Sunwoo’s small smiles in return.

The car ride wasn’t very long so they soon arrived at the church. The ceremony passed by in a blur and before they knew it, they were already on the way back to Jeongin’s house where the reception would take place.

“See, everything is going really well today”, Jeongin smiled. They were in the kitchen sharing a slice of wedding cake. Sunwoo looked at the crowd of people gathered in the living room, having a great time chatting and laughing about Merlin-knows-what.

“We can be stronger than this curse. Together”, the younger added, causing Sunwoo to look at him again. Sunwoo gave him a hug, surprising Jeongin. He figured that they hadn’t even been talking to each other for that long but Jeongin had already become such a huge part of his life. He just got him, and he didn’t judge him for being cursed.

With a start, Sunwoo realized that what he felt for Jeongin might not just be appreciation. He might not even just _like_ him. His eyes widened and he pulled back from their hug to look at Jeongin.

 _I love you_ , he thought. Should he really tell him though? What if Jeongin didn’t feel the same? Love was a pretty strong word and he didn’t want to overwhelm Jeongin with his confession. But then again, would there ever be a more perfect moment than this?

“I...uh...”

“I have to use the bathroom. Will you excuse me for a second?” Jeongin suddenly blurted out, already halfway out the door before Sunwoo could even process his words. Sunwoo’s shoulders slumped but he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at his boyfriend’s cuteness.

Not long after, Jeongin’s dad entered the kitchen, making a bee line for the wedding cake. He noticed Sunwoo standing there and regarded him with a warm smile. “Hey Sunwoo. Are you enjoying the party?” he asked. Sunwoo returned the smile and nodded. “I am. Thank you so much for having me”, he replied.

“You know, Jeongin has always been a very bright kid but ever since he’s started dating you, he seems to be downright glowing. You seem to make my son very happy”, Jeongin’s dad told him. Sunwoo felt heat rise to his cheeks. “Well, he makes me happy too. He’s really important to me”, he answered shyly. His father smiled at him and an awkward silence followed.

Luckily, Jeongin returned to the kitchen in that moment, looking from his dad to Sunwoo and back. “What were you two talking about?” he asked suspiciously. His dad laughed and patted Sunwoo on the shoulder. “I was just telling this one some cute stories about you”, he joked.

“Dad!”, Jeongin whined, “Can I not even leave him alone for one second without you or Jeongmin trying to embarrass me?” His father only cackled. “Sorry, no can do, son. Now, I’ll leave you two be. I was just here to get some cake. Enjoy the party.” With that he grabbed his plate and left the kitchen.

The two of them shared another piece of cake before rejoining the party. It went on for a few more hours before the first guests started to leave. Eventually, the married couple made their way to the airport to start their honeymoon, so the party just fizzled out after that.

“We still have an entire day tomorrow before we have to head back to Hogwarts... what should we do?" Jeongin thought out loud later that evening. The couple had already changed into their pajamas -Sunwoo in his racoon onesie and Jeongin in a fox one- and gone to bed. Jeongin's head was resting on Sunwoo's chest and Sunwoo had a protective arm wrapped around Jeongin, keeping him close and all to himself.

"I'm not sure... what are the options?" Sunwoo replied. They were speaking quietly because of how late it was. Jeongin hummed in thought before looking up at Sunwoo. "Well, we could probably help my mom with her gardening again, or we could help my dad with his cooking...", he replied, thinking some more before a new idea came to his mind.

"Oh, I know! We can go to town, pretend to be muggles and do muggle stuff!", Jeongin suggested excitedly. "Muggle stuff?" "Yeah! We can go to the cinema, the amusement park, the regular park or... oh! The arcade!" he explained with even more excitement in his voice, making Sunwoo chuckle.

"I've never been to a muggle town before so... let's just do all of that", he smiled and gave Jeongin a gentle kiss on his forehead, earning a "yay!" from him. "I can't wait! It's gonna be so much fun", the Hufflepuff added, letting his head return to its previous position on his boyfriend's chest.

He was probably right. Sunwoo had no idea what a cinema was, but he was certain that as long as he was with Jeongin, it was going to be amazing.

They went back to being very quiet and the younger listened to Sunwoo's slow but steady heartbeat. It was far slower than Jeongin's, but that made it even more calming to listen to.

"Are you sure I'm not too cold? Sorry, it must be uncomfortable..." Sunwoo spoke up, causing Jeongin to chuckle. "Not at all, actually. If anything, that makes it more comfortable. I can't sleep when I get too warm", he said reassuringly, causing the Slytherin to smile a bit. "If you say so", he chuckled and pulled him a bit closer to his chest. He'd never let go of him. Even if someone pointed a wand at his face. Never.

_~_

“That was amazing!” Jeongin exclaimed as he exited the cinema, followed by a slightly shaken up Sunwoo. “It was. But also very terrifying”, the Slytherin pouted. Jeongin hadn’t told him that the movie they were going to watch was going to be a horror movie, so Sunwoo had had to find that out the hard way.

“I didn’t know you were such a scaredy-cat, Sunwoo”, the younger laughed, nudging his boyfriend. “Listen, ghosts are really scary!” Sunwoo claimed and shivered when he remembered a particularly scary scene from the movie, making Jeongin laugh out loud.

“Aw, I’m sorry for picking such a scary one”, he smiled and gave the pouting Slytherin a kiss on the cheek. “Better?” he asked. Sunwoo looked away but couldn’t hide a smile. “Yes”, he replied shyly.

“Then let’s head to the arcade next!” Jeongin announced, clapping excitedly. “Is that as scary as the cinema?” Sunwoo asked with an alarmed expression, making Jeongin chuckle. “No, it’s going to be fun”, he promised with a smile and took Sunwoo’s hand to take him to the arcade.

They had to head through the heart of the muggle city to get there, but Sunwoo didn’t mind at all. He had never been to a completely non-magical city before after all. The weather was a little bit cloudy, but since there weren’t that many people around, it was a really comfortable walk.

Feeling a bit hungry -despite those three bags of popcorn and chips they had shared at the cinema- they also got some delicious waffles from one of the stands they were passing by. Sunwoo took the opportunity to ask Jeongin about muggle related things like the phone store, the regular post that worked without any owls, the internet café and the large TV screens behind the windows broadcasting the news, and the latter happily explained everything to him.

“You know a lot of things about muggles”, the Slytherin pointed out eventually. Jeongin smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I come here a lot when I’m home over the summer. My parents are wizards, but they’re really fascinated by muggles, so they taught me many things about them ever since I was a child”, he explained.

Sunwoo would be lying if he said he didn’t envy him at least a little bit. Jeongin had such a good relationship with his parents and it made him wonder what it would be like if his parents didn’t hate every fiber of his being. His parents had never taken him anywhere as a child. They went on vacation by themselves and locked him in the house while they were gone, so he’d never really spent time with them like this. They’d always been scared of him and hated him because of the curse.

“What’s wrong?” Jeongin asked suddenly, pulling Sunwoo out of his thoughts. He hadn’t even noticed that he had stopped walking in the middle of the street. “Oh, nothing, I was just… thinking about that ghost from earlier”, the older lied. He didn’t want to ruin their date by bringing up his family. He knew that hearing about it would make Jeongin cry again, because he just had such a kind heart.

“You’re still thinking about that? We’re almost there. I’m sure you’ll forget all about it at the arcade!” Jeongin smiled and took Sunwoo’s hand again. The Slytherin shook the dark thoughts out of his head and decided to focus on Jeongin instead.

The two wizards arrived at the arcade soon after and Sunwoo found himself overwhelmed with how colorful and bright everything was. “Wow, what is all this?”, he asked and looked around the room, his eyes widened in awe. He didn’t know what kind of place this was, but it looked fascinating.

“An arcade game paradise, basically!” Jeongin said excitedly, unsure where to go first. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you how everything works”, he added reassuringly and led Sunwoo to one of the shooter games first. He took the gun attached to the machine, started the first game and explained how it worked as he played. After successfully winning the game, he handed Sunwoo the gun and told him to give it a try. The Slytherin actually did a pretty good job, considering he’d never done anything like it before.

“This is really fun!” Sunwoo smiled, despite losing the game after running out of lives. “I told you!”, Jeongin laughed. “C-Can I try again?” the older asked, earning an encouraging nod from Jeongin. He played a couple of times and became really good at it very quickly, beating Jeongin’s high score in his final round.

Eventually, they moved on to the Claw Machine with a lot of cute plushies in it. “That racoon over there is so cute”, Sunwoo commented, pointing at one of the plushies behind the glass. “Do you want to try to win it?” Jeongin asked and showed him how to use the machine. The Slytherin tried endless times to get the claw to grab the racoon but failed every single time. Eventually, he became all pouty and gave up on the machine, not wanting to waste any more money.

“I think I’m too unlucky for this”, he pouted, making Jeongin chuckle. “Don’t be too disappointed, it’s probably rigged against the player anyway”, the younger said, patting his back before trying his own luck on the machine. Surprisingly, he managed to grab the racoon and get it out of the machine on his first try, causing him to jump happily.

“Oh my god, I actually got it!” he cheered, successfully putting a smile back on Sunwoo’s face. “Congrats, angel”, Sunwoo replied, fishing the plushie out of the small box the claw had dropped it in and handed it to Jeongin. The Hufflepuff however, gave it right back to Sunwoo, who now looked at him with a confused expression.

“You take it. You really wanted to have this racoon, right?” Jeongin said, smiling. “But… you won it”, the older replied, hesitant to accept it, even though you could tell that he really wanted it. “I won it for you! Plus, you worked much harder for it than I did, luck is just working against you”, he explained. “Thanks, Jeongin...”, Sunwoo said shyly, but seemed happy about the racoon.

Next, they played a racing game which Sunwoo turned out to be very good at, since he kept winning every single round. After his sixth win, Jeongin became a bit frustrated and asked for one more round before changing the game. He actually ended up winning that round, making him smile and clap excitedly like he always did when he won a game. Sunwoo didn’t tell him that he’d let him win that round on purpose. He thought seeing Jeongin happy was already enough of a win for him.

They then also went to the Dancing Machine, tried out another shooter and had a lot of fun with everything the arcade had to offer. Time flew by really quickly and before they knew it, they’d been playing games for almost 4 hours.

“Should we head back? My dad is probably already making dinner”, Jeongin suggested as he checked the time after another five rounds of pinball. “Sure, let’s. All of this winning has made me pretty hungry”, Sunwoo teased, earning a dramatic gasp from his boyfriend. “Hey! I totally annihilated you in Dance Dance Revolution, remember?!” Jeongin protested, laughing as they made their way to the exit.

As soon as they stepped outside however, they got caught in some heavy rain. The two of them started running towards the bus stop, holding their jackets over their heads in an attempt to stay dry, but by the time they got there, their hair and clothes were already drenched in water. The rain felt cold, it was January after all. Sunwoo didn’t feel the cold, as usual, but he could tell that Jeongin was freezing as he tried to find out when the next bus would arrive. The fact that his clothes were soaking wet didn’t make it any better.

Sunwoo took off his jacket and put it around Jeongin’s shoulders, since he didn’t need it anyway. “Thanks, Sunwoo”, the younger smiled, looking up at him. “The next bus will arrive in about 10 minutes”, he sighed. A few seconds of silence passed, filled only by the sound of raindrops on the already wet pavement, before Jeongin chuckled suddenly.

“I guess we got a bit unlucky with the weather. Your curse is trying it’s best to ruin our great time”, he joked, but wasn’t mad about it of course, and smiled up at Sunwoo. The older looked insanely handsome with his dark brown hair wet, his bangs sticking to his forehead and despite everything, a small smile evident on his face as he looked at Jeongin.

“True, but somehow I still feel like the luckiest guy on earth”, he replied, taking the younger by surprise. Didn’t he always talk about how unlucky he was on a daily basis? “What do you mean?” Jeongin asked with furrowed brows. Sunwoo smiled even more in response, lifted his arm and softly brushed some of the hair that was almost covering Jeongin’s eyes out of his face. He then cupped his boyfriend’s face in his hands and looked at him for a few more seconds.

“Because I have you”, he said. A blush spread across Jeongin’s face as he smiled up at Sunwoo, whose eyes were still locked with his. Before Jeongin could come up with a reply to that, the older leaned in and wordlessly connected their lips. Their kiss lasted longer than the small pecks he gave him occasionally, and Jeongin let his arms find their way around Sunwoo’s waist, smiling into the kiss.

He didn’t let go of him, even when Sunwoo pulled away for a moment, unable to hide his smile. “I like you so much”, Jeongin replied sincerely, before reconnecting their lips. The rain suddenly didn’t seem cold at all, now that all he could think about was Sunwoo’s lips against his.

They could’ve stayed like this for much longer if the bus, which they didn’t realize had already pulled up next to them, hadn’t honked at them, causing them to pull apart. “So, are you going to get in here or what?” the bus driver asked, sounding annoyed. Embarrassed, the two of them entered the bus, not without hearing the bus driver’s comment about “these foolish teens, always making out anywhere and everywhere”, as the two of them took a seat somewhere in the back. They couldn’t help but chuckle and soon intertwined their hands as they looked out the window. It was still raining hard, but the rain hitting the window sounded calming in a way.

“I like you more”, Sunwoo said suddenly, his cheeks turning red. Jeongin gave him a confused look at first but then smiled at his late reply. “Impossible.”

~

The next day it was time for Jeongin and Sunwoo to go back to Hogwarts. Jeongin’s family took the two of them to the station and bid their goodbyes to them with warm hugs. “You definitely need to visit us again, Sunwoo. It was so great to meet you”, Jeongin’s mom told him with a smile on her face.

“Uh...yeah, sure. If you’ll have me, I’d love to come along again”, Sunwoo said shyly. He couldn’t believe that he had actually managed to make it through these past few days without Jeongin’s parents hating him. Jeongin took his hand. “It’s time to go”, he pointed out. His parents gave each of them another hug before taking off.

The train ride was long but luckily, there weren’t that many people around. They mainly just spent their time cuddling; Jeongin’s head resting in Sunwoo’s lap as the older petted his hair.

~

The first few days after their return Jeongin spent most of his time at the library, trying to do research regarding Sunwoo’s curse. He was determined to help his boyfriend, so he practically buried himself in books to the point where Sunwoo worried about him neglecting his studies. He was concerned that Jeongin would fail exams because of him and told him to just let it go.

“I can’t give up, Sunwoo”, Jeongin told him with determination on his face. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading so much about curses and cures, it’s that these cures are often found in the most unexpected ways. I will rid you of this curse. I promise”, he said. Sunwoo smiled at him and reached for his hands over the table. “What did I do to deserve you?” he asked. Jeongin smiled and blushed.

“Will you help me with the research? I’m sure we can find a cure together”, he asked, his cheeks still rosy but his eyes sparkling with that same determination. Sunwoo chuckled and nodded, grabbing one of the many books that were spread on Jeongin’s table.

At this point, Sunwoo couldn’t even remember how he was coping with everything before he had Jeongin.


End file.
